Microsoft buys Nuance for $ 19.7 billion

Microsoft buys Nuance for $ 19.7 billion

Microsoft has bought Nuance Communications, an AI and healthcare software provider, for US $ 19.7 billion since it bought LinkedIn in 2016 for US $ 26.2 billion.

The all-cash deal announced on April 12 included a payment of US $ 56.00 per share, a 23 percent premium to the closing price of Nuance on Friday. Along with the transaction, Microsoft will also take all of Nuance's net debt.

Microsoft hopes to expand its healthcare and AI technology portfolio, including the inclusion of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.

Nuance's productivity solutions, including its Dragon Enterprise software suite, also align with Microsoft's other verticals. Dragon speech recognition software, as well as the Dragon Legal and Professional Productivity Suite, will feed well into Microsoft's existing offerings in its AI and productivity space.

Microsoft said in an April 12 news release that the acquisition would double Microsoft's overall address market in the healthcare provider space, bringing it to $ 500 billion.

The company's goal is to combine Nunes' biometric virtual assistant products with teams, Azure and Dynamics 365 to create new solutions.

The deal is expected to close at the end of this calendar year. Once completed, Nuance's financials will be reported as a part of Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud segment.

Mark Benjamin will remain as CEO of Nuance. He will be reporting to Scott Guthrie, executive vice president at Cloud and AI at Microsoft.