Voice Recognition

I have written at length – past posts – about the trend developing in voice recognition and NUAN being my pick as the leader.

I am working on updating the blog so that I can link to past posts.

China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia can all be taken to the next level of communication and computing efficiency, with advances in the voice space.

With today’s purchase of privately held dictaphone, Nuance entrenches themselves in the medical field of that space.

I am sure the ride will be a volatile one, but I have been an owner since 5 and with today’s purchase and more important, positive reaction to the news, the stock should trend higher.

Nuance Buys Dictaphone for $357 MillionWednesday February 8, 1:26 pm ETNuance Buys Dictaphone for $357M to Expand in Health Care Transcription Services Market

BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) — Speech recognition-software maker Nuance Communications Inc. said Wednesday it will buy Dictaphone for $357 million, enabling Nuance to expand further into the $15 billion global market for health care transcription services.ADVERTISEMENT

Nuance and privately held Dictaphone said both companies’ boards have approved a deal expected to close by March 31. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Shares of Burlington-based Nuance were up 20 cents to $8.20 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Stratford, Conn.-based Dictaphone will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuance, which is financing the all-cash deal with a $355 million loan and a $75 million credit line.

The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Burlington-based Nuance to gain a bigger piece of the market to convert doctors’ recorded dictation about patients and other medical data into electronic transcripts.

Nuance’s technology is used by call centers for voice-driven menus and by financial services companies to recognize customers. Nuance also makes document imaging technology.

Last spring, Peabody-based ScanSoft Inc. agreed to acquire its former speech recognition rival Nuance for $221 million, and operate under the name of Nuance, which had been based in Menlo Park, Calif.

Dictaphone traces its roots to a company formed in the late 1800s by telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and says it now provides dictation and transcription services to more than 4,000 medical centers with about 400,000 doctors.