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SOFTWARE INDUSTRY NEWS |
Nuance acquires SpinVox |
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Speech and imaging solutions company Nuance has announced its acquisition of the UK-based competing start up SpinVox for $102.5 million - $66 million in cash and $36.5 million, or approximately 2.3 million shares, in Nuance common stock. SpinVox is a voice-to-text company that works with mobile operators, cable companies and application developers to deliver network and enterprise voice-to-text solutions. Nuance plans to leverage SpinVox’s voice-to-text infrastructure and language support to drive “continued adoption among carriers and enterprises around the world,” which it said would further accelerate the growth of its voice-to-text business. SpinVox customers include major carriers such as Alltel, Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless, TELUS, Movistar, Optus, Vodacom, Vodafone Spain, Telstra, and Skype. In a statement, Nuance said it intends to use the acquisition to expand operations and accelerate growth in the three key areas of service quality, global reach and innovation. 2009 has been a year of buyouts for Nuance – in October it acquired eCopy Inc., a company that integrates paper documents into business software applications, for $54 million, July saw it acquire Jott Networks, a voice-to-text mobile applications firm, while in February it had acquired mobile advertising software maker Zi Corp. for $35 million in cash and stock. “Around the world, the voice-to-text market has experienced tremendous growth over the last year, with a variety of innovative services being delivered by carriers and unified communications providers,” said John Pollard, vice president, Nuance Voice-to-Text Services. “With SpinVox’s robust infrastructure, language support and operational experience, we will broaden the reach and capabilities of our platform.” Media reports suggested that this was a culmination of a difficult year for SpinVox, one that was witness to substantial losses and investor unrest. The acquisition marks a heavy loss on SpinVox, which had raised $230 million in recent years to provide financial supports for its expansion plans. As recently as August, the company had raised more money in order to service its debt, and soon thereafter was reported to be paying its staff with stock in lieu of cash as a way to save money. September 2009 saw one of SpinVox's backers, Invesco, write down its investments by 90% and, in the process, place the company on the market. |
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