A Toronto-based AI technology company tied up some loose ends before taking off for Christmas holidays Monday.
VIQ Solutions Inc. (TSX-Venture:VQS) announced Christmas Eve that it has acquired two leading providers of transcription services to the insurance, government and legal markets based in the U.S.: Transcription Express, of Gilbert, Arizona, and HomeTech of Seattle.
Key points of the transactions include – all in U.S. funds – the addition of $6.4 million in annualized recurring profitable revenue on an EBITDA of 20% based on the 12-month trailing revenue in October and will be immediately accretive to VIQ. The deal also adds more than 55 active insurance clients stateside, including more than a dozen Fortune 500 insurance customers covering 49 states.
In early November, VIQ entered into non-binding letters of intent with certain American-based companies to acquire, subject to ongoing due diligence.
CEO Sebastien Pare said, "We are pleased to welcome Transcription Express and HomeTech to VIQ Solutions. The addition of these industry leaders and the volume of recordings they transcribe will significantly expand the addressable content of our AI services and generate new value for all our customers."
While the news did not spark much in volume – only 36,000 shares had traded within about an hour of the 1:00 p.m. ET market close – the price of VIQ shares went airborne 1.5 cents, or 12.5%, to 13.5 cents.
