On March 3, 2023, Denmark-headquartered language service provider (LSP) LanguageWire announced it had acquired A.D.T. International. The share purchase agreement was signed and the transaction closed on February 28, 2023.
Although the valuation multiples and price paid for A.D.T. are undisclosed, LanguageWire’s CEO, Søren Bech Justesen, told Slator the France-based LSP has 22 employees and annual revenues of around EUR 7m (USD 7.4m).
A.D.T. — which refers to Agence De Traduction — was founded nearly 30 years ago by its current CEO, Cédric Loison. Justesen said Loison also “had the majority shareholding” in A.D.T. and, along with the company’s other leadership, will be joining the combined organization, which will employ more than 450 staff.
Explaining how the discussions about an acquisition began, Justesen said, “The acquisition is in-line with our international growth and M&A strategy, where we as a part of this identified A.D.T.”
Asked about the main rationale of the transaction, Justesen characterized the French market for translation and localization as “attractive” and said “The acquisition of A.D.T. is a further step in making us a leading LSP in France and Europe.”
He continued, “A.D.T. has a strong footprint in the French market and has many long-term customer relationships with leading French brands.” Moreover, “From a vertical perspective, A.D.T. has deep expertise within legal; competencies matching LanguageWire’s.”
Slator 2022 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report
A.D.T. is LanguageWire’s second acquisition since swapping private equity backers in mid-2021. The company’s first was another France-based LSP, Agency Walker Services (AWS), which LanguageWire acquired in March 2022. The LSP also inherited French operations as part of its earlier acquisition of Belgium-based rival, Xplanation, in 2018.
While a full integration of under the LanguageWire brand is envisaged, this will “evolve gradually,” Justesen said. According to him, “integration activities will start shortly, and we look forward to onboarding and offering our ecosystem to both new colleagues and A.D.T. customers.” In a first step, LanguageWire’s technologies and services will be rolled out to support A.D.T.’s operations.
As for current trading, Justesen said “LanguageWire has had a strong start to the year with year-on-year growth.” The company generated EUR 64.1m (USD 68.8m) in 2022, meaning LanguageWire is among the five biggest LSPs in Europe based on revenues.
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