Nuance, a company that develops imaging and voice recognition technologies, has announced the acquisition of print management and cost recovery software developer Equitrac. Nuance is shelling out $157 million in cash for the company, and the deal is expected to close in September of this year.
Equitrac’s software helps businesses effectively manage their printing environments, reduce printing costs, increase security and lessen their environmental impact. Users can print documents from their desktop as usual, then use card-swipe or log-in identification at a printer to view and select their documents for on-demand printing. In a hospital setting for example, care providers can securely access and print standardized forms or specific patient reports from printer.
The company’s products seem to be complimentary and will be integrated into Nuance’s scanning software and other professional desktop applications. Many of Nuance’s resellers are also selling Equitrac’s software, including Canon, Xerox, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and HP.
Nuance says that it expects the acquisition of Equitrac to add between $58 million and $60 million in non-GAAP revenue to the company.
Of course, this acquisition is an additional sign that Nuance’s position with Apple is a partnership as opposed to full out acquisition. As we reported last week, Apple has been in negotiations with Nuance for a likely partnership to license and use the company’s voice recognition technology. Yesterday, we learned that Apple may already be using Nuance technology in their new (but yet to be officially opened) massive data center in North Carolina.
As we wrote then, Nuance is a massive company with a $6 billion market cap, meaning that Apple would have to shell out the big bucks to acquire it. With today’s news that Nuance is building out its own product portfolio with acquisitions, it seems more likely that Apple is partnering with Nuance.