Nuance strikes deal to acquire Dictaphone for $357 million

Voice recognition software developer Nuance has cut a deal to acquire Dictaphone. Nuance executives say they expect the all-cash $357 million agreement to accelerate the adoption of voice recognition as a replacement for manual transcription.

"It is our goal by the end of this decade to replace most manual transcription in healthcare with speech-enabled automated solutions, giving care providers and medical transcription services the ability to reduce manual transcription costs by over $5 billion a year," said Paul Ricci, chairman and CEO of Nuance.

U.S. medical providers spend about $10 billion annually to transcribe spoken reports, according to Ricci.

The deal to merge Dictaphone and Nuance is expected to close March 31, pending regulatory approvals and due diligence. If it does, Dictaphone will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuance.

Editor's Note: What the merger will mean for Nuance, Dictaphone, and the medical community at large will be featured in the Feb. 20 issue of SCAN.