Transcend, Nuance Communications make bids for Spheris
Nashville Business Journal - by April Wortham Staff Writer
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 2:42pm CDT | Modified: Thursday, April 8, 2010, 4:03pm
nashville.bizjournals.com
Atlanta-based Transcend Services Inc. has joined Massachusetts-based Nuance Communications Inc. in bidding for bankrupt medical transcription company Spheris Inc.
The two companies will go up against “stalking horse” bidder MedQuist Inc. in an April 13 auction administered by a Delaware bankruptcy judge.
Franklin-based Spheris, the nation’s second-largest provider of clinical documentation technology and services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 3. At the same time, Spheris announced plans to sell its U.S. operations to MedQuist and its non-bankrupt India subsidiary to CBay for $75.2 million.
However, before the sale can go through, the bankruptcy judge must hold an auction of Spheris’ assets. Today was the deadline for interested buyers to submit bids.
According to court documents filed late today, Transcend and Nuance were the only two bids received. A sale hearing is set for 9 a.m. on April 15.
According to its Web site, Transcend (NASDAQ: TRCR) provides medical transcription and voice recognition services to more than 250 hospitals, health systems and clinics nationally. Its 2009 revenue was $71.8 million, up 47 percent from 2008.
Nuance, of Burlington, Mass., makes speech-recognition and imaging software for businesses and consumers around the world. In addition to medical transcription, its technology is used in such applications as directory assistance and navigation systems. For 2009, Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) reported non-GAAP revenue from its healthcare and dictation businesses of $441.0 million, up 25 percent from a year earlier. GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting procedures. Non-GAAP means the financial statements were prepared based on a basis other than the norm.
Nashville Business Journal reported on Nuance's bid earlier this afternoon, after the company filed a letter in Delaware bankruptcy court which revealed that it had submitted a bid to Spheris on March 19.
The letter filed today by Nuance’s attorneys asks U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross to force Nuance competitor MultiModal Technologies Inc. to produce documents related to a dispute between the two companies over whether Spheris can legally transfer its license agreement with MultiModal to the eventual buyer.
Both MultiModal and Nuance make voice-recognition software used in medical transcription, although MultiModal currently holds the contract with Spheris.
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