IT firm Ebix buys Vertex, launches Ebix Consulting

Global IT consulting and services firm Ebix has acquired Vertex, a US-based management and IT consulting firm. Roughly 190 Vertex employees will join Ebix, and be integrated into the newly launched ‘Ebix Consulting’ business unit.

Ebix is a global supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry. The firm has more than 1,900 employees across offices in 40+ countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and Singapore. Ebix provides end-to-end solutions ranging from infrastructure exchanges, carrier systems, agency systems and risk compliance solutions to custom software development, with a focus on the insurance industry.

Vertex was founded in 1991 and provides consultancy and software services to the life and annuity insurance industries. Its service portfolio includes Business and IT Consulting, Migrations, Conversions, Integrations and Business Process Automation.

In line with Ebix’s ambition to boosts its presence in the IT consulting space, the multinational has decided to poach the New Britain, Connecticut-based Vertex. A purchase price has not been disclosed, but Ebix said all the deal was funded with a mix of cash reserves and a bank credit line. Following the acquisition, Ebix has bundled its consultancy offerings into a newly established business unit named Ebix Consulting, which will be headed by Steven Wilson, the founder and president of Vertex. In addition to Wilson, the entire senior management team of Vertex has been retained, including the 190 employees.

“Vertex is recognised in the life and annuity insurance marketplace for its innovative products and services that have helped both define standards and connect competing service providers, to allow them to interact with insurers on common interfaces. We are excited to have access now to the entire spectrum of these leading solutions as well as the extensive strategic consulting expertise of Vertex’s 190 employees,” says Robin Raina, CEO of Ebix.

With the launch of Ebix Consulting, Raina believes that the firm has taken “a first step toward establishing a worldwide strategic consulting practice for the insurance industry.”

“In Ebix, we found a company who shared our vision of providing strategic management consulting to the industry while maintaining our independence and making our services available to competing vendors, insurers, brokers and service providers. Our services and products complement each other, opening up new business opportunities for both - our clients and us,” adds Wilson.