CL-2025-000062 - [2025] EWHC 1506 (Comm)

Eraaya is an Indian company carrying on business in the software and e-commerce sectors. It is listed on the BSE and appears to be controlled by a Mr Vikas Garg and his family. Elara is an English plc which carries on business in investment banking, asset management and financial advisory services.

The Bondholders are investment funds called Multitude Growth Funds Ltd (“MGF”), Bull Value Incorporated VCC Sub-Fund (“Bull Value”), and Selvi Capital PLC (“Selvi”).

In around May 2024, Eraaya resolved to acquire (as part of a consortium) Ebix Inc., a Delaware-based software and e-commerce company undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. This acquisition was a pivotal step in Eraaya’s strategic ambitions.

Ebix is described on its website as "a leading international supplier of on-demand infrastructure exchanges to the insurance, financial, and healthcare industries. In the Insurance sector, the Company's main focus is to develop and deploy a wide variety of insurance and reinsurance exchanges on an on-demand basis, while also, providing Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") enterprise solutions in the area of CRM, front-end & back-end systems, outsourced administrative and risk compliance."

In mid June 2024 a Plan Support Agreement was entered into between Ebix and a consortium of Eraaya, a company called Vikas Lifecare Limited (“VLL”), Vitasta Software India Private Limited (“VSI”) and one or more of their designees. VLL is also an Indian public company listed on the BSE. It appears on the evidence before me to be minority owned by Mr Garg, one of the main shareholders in Eraaya. VSI appears to have been controlled by a Mr Raina, who was a member of Eraaya’s board until September 2024.

The bid underpinning that agreement was declared the winning bid at the auction process for Ebix on 24 June 2024. An amended version of the Plan Support Agreement was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court on 2 August 2024. By this time Eraaya was to be the major stakeholder with minority stakeholders (2.42%) being Melanie Lane Partners Series Fund, LP, Melanie Lane Series One and Watch Hill Capital LLC (“Melanie Lane and Watch Hill”) who provided finance in the amount of US$13 million.