Nuance Communications, Inc., a leading provider of speech solutions, announced that it has closed its acquisition of Focus Infomatics, Inc.
The acquisition expands Nuance’s ability to deliver Web-based speech recognition editing services and significantly accelerates Nuance’s strategy to automate manual transcription in healthcare, where an estimated $15 billion is spent worldwide each year.
Focus’ proven technology and services portfolio, in conjunction with Nuance’s Dictaphone® iChart® Web-based transcription solutions, will ensure the most efficient and scalable Internet delivery of automated transcription as a service.
This acquisition provides Nuance and its Dictaphone iChart Preferred Service Providers with additional infrastructure and capacity to achieve high levels of accuracy, reliability and scale in an extremely fertile market.
Focus Infomatics brings customer relationships with some of the United States’ largest healthcare organizations such as Ardent Healthcare and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Focus’ practices have garnered the industry’s highest customer satisfaction as evidenced by its 2006 Best in KLAS® ranking by KLAS Enterprises, an independent organization that monitors performance of healthcare vendors worldwide.
In connection with the acquisition of Focus Infomatics and in accordance with NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 4350, Nuance will grant 185,367 shares of its common stock, in the form of stand-alone restricted stock units, as an inducement material to 61 individuals entering into employment arrangements with Nuance.
The restricted stock units will be granted upon the approval of the Compensation Committee of Nuance’s Board of Directors, and vest over a three year period, subject to acceleration upon the achievement of certain performance targets – Nuance.
