SpinVox is close to being acquired by rival Nuance Communications for around $150 million, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The voice-to-text company, which was embroiled in a controversy earlier this year over whether humans powered its transcription services, could ink a deal within the coming weeks, according to the report.
A separate BBC report said SpinVox has been given more time to repay a $48.8 million loan from an investor, which was due to be repaid this week. The BBC report said the company has been given until the end of January to repay the loan.
SpinVox powers voice-to-text services for the likes of Alltel, Bell Mobility, Telefonica Mexico and others. In July, the BBC reported that much of the company's transcription was being done by humans in call centers around the world. SpinVox countered that its technology only relies on humans if necessary, and then only in an anonymous, encrypted and random way. Claims of financial mismanagement have also dogged SpinVox, but inquiries by Deloitte and the law firm Jones Day found no wrongdoing.
Nuance, which converts text messages into voicemails, has been in negotiations with SpinVox for weeks, according to the BBC. A Nuance spokeswoman declined to comment.
Nuance's reported interest in SpinVox comes as little surprise; the company is no stranger to acquisitions. In the past few years Nuance has snapped up the likes of BeVocal, Tegic, Zi, Jott and others.
For more:
- see this BBC article
- see this Sunday Times article
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