Updated March 2024 - scroll to end
Most industry sectors saw a drop in dealmaking activity in 2022, driven by economic turmoil, soaring inflation and geopolitical upheaval in Europe. Language services was no exception, although it appeared somewhat more resilient than expected - one of the first signs of an imminent comeback.
According to language industry publication Slator, which compiles the annual Language Service Provider Index, the combined revenue of the nearly 350 language service firms tracked in the index increased by around 10 per cent to almost $10.4 billion (£8.7 billion), a rate it says was driven more by M&A consolidation than organic growth.EVS Translations was founded in 1991 and specialises in translation for legal and financial companies. The company is headquartered in Germany and employs more than 150 employees – around half of which are in-house translators – across offices in Germany, England, the USA and Bulgaria.
In January 2023, the company was acquired by AI Agency Unbabel, with the acquisition representing the buyer’s second foray into the language services space, following its deal to buy Lingo24 in late 2021, as it seeks to build its language technology platform.
Announcing the acquisition, Unbabel described EVS as “recognized industry-leader for highly specialized financial content, the company’s services span document translation, legal translation, terminology management, multi-format file processing, media localization, international SEO, and copywriting, machine translation and engine customization, and interpreting.”
The buyer said that the acquisition would significantly expand its offering “at a time of high global demand for translation services by multinational corporations”, adding that the value of the global translation industry increased to $56.18 billion in 2021, with Europe comprising close to half of the industry.
Unbabel CEO and co-founder Vasco Pedro said: “We are committed to delivering the most comprehensive multilingual customer experiences, and our acquisition of a key player in the German market enhances our existing capabilities and expands our global footprint.”
“We’re proud to bring EVS Translations into the Unbabel family. With this new specialized content translation partner, Unbabel will have more data to train MT engines in new industry sectors and use cases — opening up new opportunities for growth and broadening capabilities for our customers.”
Blu Digital Group is a California-based media services provider, which licenses cloud-based media software and offers media production and distribution. Last year, the company began to increase its localisation services, appointing Silviu Epure as its VP of Content Globalization and acquiring dubbing and audio firm Central Post LA.
Later in the year, the company acquired UK-based dubbing and subtitling firm Haymillian for an undisclosed amount, adding operational hubs in the UK and Greece, as well as a Mexico-based dubbing facility to Blu’s business.
The acquisition of Haymillian, which was previously a vendor to Blu, augmented the buyer’s access services capabilities and reflected its aim of capitalising on the increase in audio description. In particular, Haymillian’s Mexico dubbing facility will enable Blu to strengthen its Latin American presence, with Blu Digital CEO Paulette Pantoja saying that the firm had seen an “extraordinary rise of content distribution to and from Latin America to the world”.
As well as growing demand for audio description and closed captioning, Blu Digital’s M&A plans are also being driven by technological advances, with Pantoja commenting: “Considering the technological advances that the industry is heavily exploring in this space, we do expect to grow exponentially in 2023.”
Pantoja commented that the company would continue to target acquisitions, seeking firms that provide “technological innovation, high quality output, and consistent top-notch client experience” and adding that “Blu will continue its rapid global expansion seeking out like-minded proponents of these essential three elements in all key regions.”
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