The stock price of Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX), a financial software company, rose by nearly 4% to $11.57 per share on Wednesday, around 11:26 A.M. in New York after the company announced its agreement with Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) to provide health content to its consumers.
Telefonica Largest Company in Brazil
Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) is the largest mobile telecommunications company in Brazil with 90 million consumers. The company agreed to provide health content to its client base using the A.D.A.M. Health Content Exchange of Ebix.
The telecommunications company has a 29.56% market share in Brazil. Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) became the largest integrated operation in terms of client base and revenue after acquiring Vivo in 2011. It is a subsidiary of Telefonica Spain, the largest trelecommunications operator in Europe.
According to Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX), its agreement with Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) materialized after the telecommunications company established eHealth Self Care, a new business intended to provide health care and complementary services to its clients.
Ebix Estimates on Service Deployment
Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) estimated that the service will initially be deployed to approximately 1.2 million clients on a monthly basis. The number is expected to grow substantially once consumers get access to the eHealth Portal in Brazil and eBix Portal solution in other countries in Latin America and Europe.
In a statement, Camila Crispiniano, head of eHealth Self Care for Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) said, “Our partnership with Ebix just came as a perfect fit and a natural addition to the differentiated health related products and services which are part of the offerings by Telefonica/Vivo eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) to our clients in Brazil. I am confident about the value which will be added by A.D.A.M. Health & Wellness portfolio of products to our vast client base.”
On the other hand, Mario Nogueira, senior vice president and division head for Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) in Latin America said, “We are very proud about this important relationship with a strong consumer brand such as Telefonica/Vivo. This will certainly represent a key reference for Ebix Insurance and Health products in Latin America, while strengthening our presence in the region.”
Ebix expects that its content exchange solution for Telefonica Brasil SA (ADR) (NYSE:VIV) will go live in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Last month, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) cancelled its merger agreement with Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) because of an investigation against the financial software company. As a result, the stock value of the Ebix plummeted by nearly 60%. Although the company regained its stock value over the past three weeks, it still 40% below the $20 acquisition price offered by Goldman Sachs.
Nicolas Wesley Yee, equity analyst at Gradient Analytics previously stated that Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) may be in big trouble because its effective tax rate (ETR) is unusually lower than the ETRs reported by its peers in the industry.
