Exhibit 10.3


 


EBIX ACQUIRES SYDNEY BASED
PREMIER INSURANCE EXCHANGE TELSTRA EBUSINESS SERVICES


 


ACQUISITION
LIKELY TO BE ACCRETIVE TO EBIX EPS


 


ATLANTA,
GA — December 24, 2007 — Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading
international developer and supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to
the insurance industry, today announced that it has signed a binding agreement
to acquire Telstra eBusiness Services effective the 1st of January 2008.
The closing of the transaction is slated to be done on 2nd January 2008.


 


Telstra
eBusiness Services is a leading provider of integrated e-business productivity
solutions to the general insurance industry in Australia. The company connects
the back offices of insurance underwriters and intermediaries in real time. The
core product of the business is Sunrise Exchange which connects leading
insurers and brokers to process general insurance policies electronically.
Today Sunrise Exchange is seen as a premier insurance exchange that processes
4.7 million transactions across 1.4 million policies today in Australia.
Approximately 84% of the brokers in Australia use Sunrise Exchange to transact
general insurance policies.


 


The
deal will involve upfront cash payment of AUD 50 million (Approximately US$
43.4 million) to Telstra at the time of closing on 2nd January 2008.
Ebix funded the acquisition through a mix of equity sale, convertible debt and
a credit line from the bank.


 


The
decision to sell the business to Ebix came after the Telstra board concluded
the business was not part of its core operations and would be better suited to
Ebix, which already operates in the field.


 


“This
is a good result for Telstra and, also, a positive move for TeBS (Telstra
eBusiness) as the core business of Ebix is insurance industry transaction
processing and software,” Telstra Enterprise and Government Group Managing
Director, David Thodey said.


 


David
added, “Bringing the two businesses together will create opportunities to
extend the range of e-commence facilities available for the insurance industry.Telstra
and Ebix will work together to ensure a seamless transition of the business.”


 


Robin
Raina, Chairman, President and CEO of Ebix, Inc., said, “The acquisition
of Telstra eBusiness is another step forward towards establishing Ebix as a
leading powerhouse of insurance transactions in the world. Sunrise Exchange
coupled with our broking systems will help us offer end to end seamless
transactions to the insurers and brokers in Australia.”


 


 

















 


 


Robin
added, “On the economic front, we are excited about this acquisition on many
accounts. Firstly it brings a revenue base to the company that is 90%
recurring. Secondly it is a business that is likely to be extremely accretive
to Ebix earnings per share (“EPS”) in the near and long term future.”


 


Robin
also said, “We also believe that this acquisition will open cross selling
opportunities for us on many fronts. Besides the above, the recurring revenue
base, strong cash flows, market leadership and the growth possibilities of the
business made Telstra eBusiness a natural fit for Ebix.”


 


No
financial advisors were involved in the transaction from the Ebix side.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers served as financial advisors to Telstra for this
transaction.


 


About
Telstra eBusiness


 


Telstra
eBusiness is the leading provider of e-business solutions to the insurance
industry in Australia. Its e-business solutions provide an integrated exchange
which is utilized by insurers, intermediaries, and other insurance channel
providers, across Australia today. Over the years, it has been designing and
delivering increasingly innovative and integrated electronic solutions that
have helped improve business productivity and responsiveness. For more
information, visit the Telstra eBusiness website at www.telstraebusiness.com.au


 


About
Telstra


 


Telstra
(ASX: TLS) is Australia’s leading telecommunications and information services
company, with one of the best known brands in the country. Telstra (OTC:TLSYY)
offers a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets
throughout Australia, providing more than 9.86 million Australian fixed line
and more than 8.9 million mobile services. For more information, visit the
Telstra website at www.telstra.com.au


 


(i)


 


(ii)                                  About Ebix


 


Ebix, Inc.
is a leading international supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to the
insurance industry.  Ebix provides a
series of application software products for the insurance industry ranging from
carrier systems, agency systems and exchanges to custom software development
for all entities involved in the insurance and financial services industries.


 


Ebix
strives to work collaboratively with clients to develop innovative technology
strategies and solutions that address specific business challenges. Ebix
combines the newest technologies with its capabilities in consulting, systems
design and integration, 


 

















 


IT
and business process outsourcing, applications software, and Web and
application hosting to meet the individual needs of organizations.


 


With
bases in Singapore, Australia, UK, the US, New Zealand, India and Canada, Ebix
employs insurance and technology professionals who provide products, support
and consultancy to more than 3,000 customers on six continents.  Ebix’s focus on quality has enabled it be
awarded Level 5 status of the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute’s
Capability Maturity Model (CMM).  For
more information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com


 


 


SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS


 


 


Safe
Harbor for Forward Looking Statements under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 — This press release contains various forward looking
statements and information that are based on management’s beliefs, as well as
assumptions made by, and information currently available to management,
including statements regarding future economic performance and financial
condition, liquidity and capital resources, acceptance of the Company’s
products by the market and management’s plans and objectives.  The Company has tried to identify such
forward looking statements by use of words such as “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,”
“plans,” “believes,” “will,” “should,” and similar expressions, but these words
are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.  Such statements are subject to various risks,
uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to vary
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward looking
statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include the extent to
which the Company’s new products and services can be successfully developed and
marketed, the integration and other risks associated with recent and future
acquisitions, the willingness of independent insurance agencies to outsource
their computer and other processing needs to third parties, the Company’s
ability to continue to develop new products to effectively address market needs
in an industry characterized by rapid technological change, the Company’s
dependence on the insurance industry (and in particular independent agents),
the highly competitive and rapidly changing automation systems market, the
Company’s ability to effectively protect its applications software and other
proprietary information, the Company’s ability to attract and retain quality
management, and software, technical sales and other personnel, the potential
negative impact on the Company’s outsourcing business in India from adverse
publicity and possible governmental regulation, the risks of disruption of the
Company’s Internet connections or internal service problems, the possibly
adverse effects of a substantial increase in volume of traffic on the Company’s
website, mainframe and other servers, possible security breaches on the Company’s
website and the possible effects of insurance regulation on the Company’s
business. Certain of these, as well as other, risks, uncertainties and other
factors, are described in more detail in Ebix’s periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s annual report on
form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, included under “Item 1.
Business—Risk Factors.”  Except as
expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no
obligation to update any such factors or to publicly update any of the forward
looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments or
changed circumstances or for any other reason.


 


CONTACT:


Jesenia
Jurado


Ebix, Inc.


678
-281-2036 or jjurado@ebix.com