• EBIX, which provides on-demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance industry, has acquired HealthConnect Systems, an online exchange for health insurance and employee benefits.
• The SaaS-based architecture of HealthConnect is complementary to the on-demand software from EBIX, and the transaction is a major step toward realizing EBIX's goal of building the first end-to-end health and benefits network in the U.S.
• The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to EPS and has received support from the market, with EBIX stock rising 7.3% on the day of the announcement -- a day when the Nasdaq fell 1.7%.
• This transaction is of particular importance given its focus on health exchange offerings in response to the Health Care Reform initiative passed by Congress. These include both private exchanges with only one insurance carrier as well as public exchanges, such as state run exchanges, that are increasingly getting attention from insurance carriers.   
• The benefits administration space has seen increased M&A activity in the last two years, including notable transactions such as ADP's acquisition of Asparity Decision Solutions in Sep 2011, Accel-KKR's acquisition of Infinisource in Aug 2011* and Aetna's acquisition of Payflex in July 2011.
• Transactions in the benefits admin space are being driven by:
• Pending healthcare reform: Insurance carriers and technology and service providers to these carriers are aligning themselves to the new regulations that would change how small businesses and individuals select and purchase their insurance coverage.
• Consumerism of health insurance: Web-based applications are giving end-users self-service capabilities to search and select the coverage that makes most sense for them. This meaningfully changes the existing benefit broker distribution channels.
• Low interest rates: Payroll companies have enjoyed meaningful revenues on the float they maintain when processing payroll. With interest rates expected to remain low in the near future, companies are forced to look at alternate revenue sources that include providing additional services through benefits administration and human capital management capabilities to their captive customer base.  

*Martin Wolf advised Infinisource in this transaction.   

About Martin Wolf  

Based in Silicon Valley, Martin Wolf is a leading middle market M&A Advisory focused on companies with services-based business models. Since 1997, our team has completed more than 100 transactions in six countries. We are a five-year member of the Merrill Lynch PS Referral Network, and were selected as ICICI Bank's (India's leading private bank) exclusive strategic partner for acquiring U.S. IT companies. Martin Wolf is member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, visit www.martinwolf.com.

November 4, 2011

Softchoice Corporation (TSX: SO) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the business of UNIS LUMIN, one of Canada's most highly regarded Cisco networking and managed services companies. Softchoice was represented by Martin Wolf | M&A Advisors. The acquisition strengthens Softchoice's professional services capabilities while providing the technology foundation to support the Company's future cloud offerings.

Please click here to view the announcement.   

September 30, 2011

SPS, a leading Unified Communications Provider, announced that Court Square Partners has made an investment in the company. Martin Wolf | M&A Advisors represented SPS in this transaction. SPS is a premier unified communication services integrator, ranked 131 on the 2011 VAR 500 list with 2010 sales of $143 million. Court Square is a $4B+ New York-based PE Group, with more than 150 lifetime investments.  

Please click here to view the announcement. 

September 20, 2011  

Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity investment firm, announced that it had taken a majority stake in Infinisource. Infinisource is a leading benefits administration technology and services company. Martin Wolf | M&A Advisors represented the seller in this transaction.  

Please click here to read more.  

MartinWolf.Com 

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