By M. Marin
READ THE FULL VQS RESEARCH REPORT
Strategic partnerships & M&A to drive growth…
VIQ Solutions' (NASDAQ:VQS) (TSX:VQS) continues to advance its growth strategy and expand its suite of offerings. For example, earlier this month, VIQ announced a strategic partnership with LegalCraft, a software development company focused on technology for the legal sector. LegalCraft offers a broad range of litigation support software and evidence management products for legal professionals. LegalCraft's flagship product, Lexel, is a case analysis and trial preparation platform; through this partnership, VIQ becomes the first LegalCraft strategic partner to offer Lexel in the U.S. Among its various properties, Lexel allows law professionals to collaborate securely to organize and prepare cases for trial. The legal / court sector represents about 32% of VIQ's total revenue.
… and strengthen and expand market position in key geographies
The company's largest markets are the U.S., U.K., and Australia. In the first nine months of 2021, the U.S. and Australia represented 62% and 30%, respectively, of total revenue. VIQ continues to identify and evaluate prospective M&A candidates to enhance organic growth and potentially expand its global footprint, with recent acquisitions that have strengthened its footprint in the U.K. and Australia and added the potential to introduce and cross-promote new products and services in these and other regions.
Increased focus on the U.K…
Following the 4Q21 acquisition of The Transcription Agency (TTA), VIQ appointed an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the court / legal industry as Managing Director, United Kingdom and EMEA. TTA is a leading supplier of secure outsourced transcription services to clients in private and public sectors in the U.K., according to management. Jayne Perry, a former Auscript (see below) executive, will focus on supporting the integration of TTA and accelerating growth in the U.K., as well as expanding VIQ's global technology footprint.
… and Australia & Asia Pacific Region
VQS also recently closed on the acquisition of Auscript Australasia Pty Ltd, an Australian court recording and transcription services company with a 100-year operating history. The legal / court sector represents about 32% of VIQ's total revenue, as noted. The company expects Auscript to accelerate its expansion in Australia and across the Asia Pacific region and enable cross-promotion of its growing product portfolio. The company believes it can also leverage Auscript to expand globally.
Expanding IP and patent protection
Separately, earlier this month, VIQ announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted it a patent for its Parallel Processing Framework for Voice to Text Digital Media. The patent recognizes innovative and fundamental methods for extracting critical information from multi-speaker, multi-channel business interactions recorded on digital media.
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