The deal, which is the second-largest completed transaction for the tech major after its $26.2bn acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, was closed following the recent clearance from the UK CMA and the approval from the EC in December 2021
Microsoft closes acquisition of Nuance Communications. (Credit: Tawanda Razika from Pixabay)
Microsoft has wrapped up the previously announced $19.7bn acquisition of Nuance Communications, a US-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) company.
The closing of the deal follows the recent clearance from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and approval from the European Commission (EC) in December 2021. The deal secured its antitrust approval in the US in June 2021.
It is the second-largest completed transaction for Microsoft after its $26.2bn acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016. Microsoft’s biggest deal is likely to change if the tech major closes the $68.7bn acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard.
The tech major announced the acquisition of Nuance in April 2021 with an aim to double its total addressable market in the healthcare provider space to around $500bn.
Microsoft offered to pay $56 per share in cash to Nuance’s shareholders. The consideration included the AI firm’s net debt.
Nuance’s solutions are said to be used by physicians, radiologists, and hospitals for providing better patient experiences.
The company has been partnering with Microsoft since October 2019 with an aim to transform the doctor-patient experience.
Nuance’s offerings include speech recognition and AI for various sectors. In 2005, the company had merged with rival speech application provider ScanSoft, which was a spin-off of Xerox.
Microsoft and Nuance are expected to help organisations across industries expedite their business goals with security-focused, cloud-based solutions powered with vertically optimised AI.
According to Microsoft, customers will benefit from improved consumer, clinician, patient, and employee experiences, which will eventually boost productivity and financial performance.
Microsoft cloud + AI Group executive vice president Scott Guthrie said: “Completion of this significant and strategic acquisition brings together Nuance’s best-in-class conversational AI and ambient intelligence with Microsoft’s secure and trusted industry cloud offerings.
“This powerful combination will help providers offer more affordable, effective and accessible healthcare, and help organisations in every industry create more personalized and meaningful customer experiences.”
Mark Benjamin, the CEO of Nuance will continue in the role and report to Guthrie.
Benjamin said: “Combining the power of Nuance’s deep vertical expertise and proven business outcomes across healthcare, financial services, retail, telecommunications and other industries with Microsoft’s global cloud ecosystems will enable us to accelerate our innovation and deploy our solutions more quickly, more seamlessly and at greater scale to solve our customers’ most pressing challenges.”
In a separate development, Microsoft said that it will suspend all new sales of the company’s products and services in Russia in protest of the country’s war against Ukraine.
Besides, Microsoft stated that it is closely coordinating and working in alignment with the US and the UK governments, and the European Union. The company will stop several aspects of its business in Russia in accordance with governmental sanctions decisions.