Boston, MA 06/17/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Maker of speech recognition, Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), continues to surge in the market after news emerged that the company could be pushing for a sale. Reports indicate that the company could have held talks with potential buyers including the likes of Samsung Electronics, as well as other private equity firms.
Icahn Pressure on Nuance
Nuance with a market value of approximately $6 billion has been under immense pressure from its largest shareholder activist shareholder Carl Icahn. Increased share purchases saw Icahn increase his stake in the company to 19% making him the largest shareholder. The Billionaire is thought to have been pushing for a possible sale for quite some time although he has claimed he would not push for an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sale.
Nuance is notably known to make voice language recognition technology that is normally used in Apple devices. Nuance tech is also used in Samsung Electronics’ TV’s, tablets and handsets. The company has already claimed that its technology will feature on Samsung up-coming wearable devices. Its other big customers include the likes of Daimler AG (ETR: DAI), Panasonic Corporation (ADR) (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) which are thought to have happened earlier in the year and if they will lead to a potential deal.
Icahn Board ‘Powers’
Icahn already has two of his representatives in the company’s board with the Wall Street journal reiterating the fact that his involvement with the company could increase odds for a possible sale or push for a significant share repurchase. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Ricci has for some time been trying to revive growth in the company. Nuance continues to expand its voice recognition tools that are continuously being used over the web and mobile devices.
Proposal for a possible sale comes at a time that Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) reported a net loss for the sixth straight quarter with the stock thought to be down by 16% for the past two years as of last week.
