VIQ Solutions Announces Acquisition of Net Transcripts

VIQ Solutions (TSXV:VQS) announced on Wednesday (November 28) that it has acquired Net Transcripts for US$6.8 million in an all-cash transaction.

The cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) technology and service company said the acquisition of Net Transcripts will add US$6.8 million in annual revenues. Net Transcripts is a provider of secure multi-speaker documentation services.

Thanks to this deal, VIQ Solutions can now extend its presence into the multi-speaker transcription and evidence based documentation market which the company said is US$6 billion in value.

VIQ Solutions initially made an announcement in early November that it signed non-binding letters of intent (LOI) with certain US-based companies pertaining to acquisitions it would make, which were subjected to customary due diligence.

The company is funding the transaction through money raised from its private placement and a drawdown from the US$11.5 million debt facility it entered with Crown Capital.

“The acquisition of Net Transcripts, a market and trusted leader in law enforcement, is a substantial milestone in VIQ’s growth strategy to expand our portfolio of services, opening up a significant and growing market in the USA,” Sebastien Pare, president of VIQ, said in the release.

Key highlights of acquisition, include VIQ Solutions adding more than 350 law enforcement clients from 47 US states and the addition of the approximate 3.5 million minutes a year of secure multi-speaker video and audio content.

“This highly fragmented market is undergoing major disruption due to artificial intelligence, which is encouraging customers to look at innovative ways to unlock the value in their digital media,” Pare said.

The company noted that it issued nine million common share purchase warrants to Crown for the purpose of the debt facility.

“Integrating VIQ’s secure technologies and artificial intelligence services will deliver significant new value and efficiencies to our customers while enhancing our financial bottom-line as we continue to scale and grow our brand in the industry,” Gary Nudd, CEO of Net Transcripts, said in the release.

It was noted that Net Transcripts is a profitable company and, apart from acquisition-related expenses, VIQ’s operating margin and earnings per share is set to be accretive.

“Adding the targeted professional customer base of Net Transcripts to VIQ’s international expertise and secure market-specific technologies and secure cloud services will significantly grow our commitment within the justice market,” Susan Sumner, COO of VIQ, said in the release.

Following the announcement, shares of VIQ Solutions remained unchanged from Tuesday’s (November 27) closing price of C$0.14, when it was last traded. VIQ Solutions has a “Sell” ranking on TradingView with 17 verticals against, nine in neutral and two in favor.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bala Yogesh, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.