Nuance pays $75.5M for voice-enabled solutions company

Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) said it will pay $75.5 million to aquire Loquendo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom Italia in order to enhance its voice-enabled solutions. Loquendo provides speech technology in 32 languages with 76 voices and its solutions are embedded in 20 million devices globally.
Nuance said the acquisition will enable it to spur speech-technology development across consumers and contact centers, automobiles, mobile phones and other consumer devices in Europe and Latin America. The acquisition is expected to close in September.
“The penetration of Loquendo’s offerings and the company’s positive industry recognition will serve as a catalyst in expanding our market reach and our voice and language portfolio,” said Steve Chambers, CMO and head of the enterprise division at Nuance. “Together, we will provide a range of best-in-class solutions, delivering natural, conversational interactions across a number of growing markets that will initially include enterprise, mobile and automotive – with a significant opportunity to accelerate our efforts in Europe and Latin America.”