logo image
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • SlatorCon Remote May 2021
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs
MENU
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • SlatorCon Remote May 2021
    • Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists
    • Preparing for the Critical Google Update Coming in May 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs

Register For Email Marketing for Freelance Linguists and Learn How To Win New Clients.

  • Slator Market Intelligence
  • Slator Advertising Services
  • Slator Advisory
  • Login
Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Advertisement
Transline in Buyout of KE-Communication’s Translation Unit

5 years ago

August 29, 2016

Transline in Buyout of KE-Communication’s Translation Unit

M&A and Funding ·

by Florian Faes

On August 29, 2016

5 years ago
M&A and Funding ·

by Florian Faes

On August 29, 2016

Transline in Buyout of KE-Communication’s Translation Unit

Transline, a language service provider (LSP) based in the southern German city of Reutlingen, acquired the translation unit of marketing and technical communication agency KE-Communication, also based in Reutlingen. The transaction closed in July 2016. Slator reached out to Transline’s owner Dr. Wolfgang Sturz, to learn more about the deal.

Dr. Sturz said the spin-off brings an additional 30 full-time staff to Transline, increasing the company’s total headcount to 100 full-time-equivalents. He does not expect major difficulties with the integration. The deal was a clean buyout of the translation team and its clients and did not involve the transfer of back-office or translation technology infrastructure.

Dr. Sturz declined to comment on the purchase price but disclosed that he expects the combined company’s revenues for 2016 to climb to EUR 12m. In 2015, Transline reported revenues of EUR 8m. According to an article in local newspaper Reutlinger Generalanzeiger, KE-Communication generated sales of EUR 3.2m from translation services in 2015.

Advertisement

Going for DACH

Transline was founded 30 years ago by Dr. Sturz and his wife and established its niche in the translation of technical documentation and communication – a logical choice for an LSP based in southern Germany, home to many of the country’s manufacturing powerhouses known as ‘hidden champions’. 

Dr. Wolfgang Sturz, CEO Transline
Dr. Wolfgang Sturz, CEO Transline

Like many other language service providers feeling pressure to grow but lacking the financial means to make transformative acquisitions, Transline brought on private equity investors and launched a buy-and-build strategy. In 2014, Vienna-based Lead Equities, a EUR 115m fund that invests in companies based in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), acquired a majority stake in Transline. The deal with KE-Communication is the first since the investment. 

Dr. Sturz confirmed that more acquisitions are in the offing. “Our focus is squarely on the DACH region,” he says. Whereas the market is still highly fragmented, Transline will be competing for targets with the likes of Swiss-based Apostroph (owned by PE-firm Wineus) and Wieners+Wieners, which, in June 2016, announced it was selling a majority stake to ECM Equity Capital Management. Of course, large and well-funded global LSPs like Lionbridge, Welocalize, and others may also compete for similar targets.

On Across Hiring from Transline

Perhaps inevitably for a southern German LSP whose clients are in manufacturing, Transline is a heavy user of the Across translation management system. In fact, Transline, was Across’s first large client, according to Dr. Sturz. “We do not have a formal partnership with Across but have worked together very closely for years,” he says.

The collaboration is likely going to deepen with Across’s recent hire of Gerd Janiszewski as its new CEO. Janiszewski had worked with Transline in senior management positions for 15 years prior to joining Across. Dr. Sturz has mixed feelings about the move. He regrets Janiszewski’s leaving but says the appointment is an opportunity to further strengthen the Across-Transline partnership. He said the transition was smooth and Janiszewski continues to be on Transline’s advisory board for a few more weeks. 

Transline Management Team
Transline Management Team

Small Not Be So Beautiful Anymore

Dr. Sturz told the local newspaper he is slowly transitioning out of managing the day-to-day operations of the business. Asked by Slator how he sees the future of the industry in the coming years, he pointed out that the translation industry finds itself at a similar juncture to where travel was 15 years ago.

Pressures on quality and price are mounting. Small providers with perhaps 30-odd staff do not have funds to keep up in terms of IT investments and client coverage, driving industry consolidation and M&A. Demand for quality translation is growing, he says and concludes that “many small firms realize there are great opportunities but they are not well positioned to capitalize on them.”

TAGS

AcrossDr. Wolfgang Sturztransline
SHARE
Florian Faes

By Florian Faes

Co-Founder of Slator. Linguist, business developer, and mountain runner. Based in the beautiful lakeside city of Zurich, Switzerland.

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SLATOR WEEKLY

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

SUBSCRIBE

SlatorSweepSlatorPro
ResearchRFP CENTER

PUBLISH

PRESS RELEASEDIRECTORY LISTING
JOB ADEVENT LISTING

Bespoke advisory including speaking, briefings and M&A

SLATOR ADVISORY
Advertisement

Featured Reports

See all
Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

by Slator

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

by Slator

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

by Slator

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

by Slator

Press Releases

See all
6CONNEX to Partner with Interprefy to Help Clients Host Large Scale Events in Any Language

6CONNEX to Partner with Interprefy to Help Clients Host Large Scale Events in Any Language

by Interprefy

BLEND Raises $10m to Fuel Global Growth with End-to-end Localization Services

BLEND Raises $10m to Fuel Global Growth with End-to-end Localization Services

by BLEND

Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

Iconic Launches INTRA Translation Platform

by Iconic

Upcoming Events

See All
  1. Smartling - Global Ready Conference 2021

    Global Ready Conference

    by Smartling

    · April 14

    When you can't traverse the world, let the world come to you. Join our annual global event from home.

    More info FREE

Featured Companies

See all
Sunyu Transphere

Sunyu Transphere

Text United

Text United

Memsource

Memsource

Wordbank

Wordbank

Protranslating

Protranslating

Seprotec

Seprotec

Versacom

Versacom

Smartling

Smartling

XTM International

XTM International

Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders

STAR Group

STAR Group

memoQ Translation Technologies

memoQ Translation Technologies

Advertisement

Popular articles

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

Poland Rules on LSP Using Google Translate; Defines ‘Professional Translator’

by Marion Marking

The Slator 2021 Language Service Provider Index

The Slator 2021 Language Service Provider Index

by Slator

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

Behind the Scenes of the European Parliament’s Pivot to Remote Interpreting

by Seyma Albarino

SlatorPod: The Weekly Language Industry Podcast

connect with us

footer logo

Slator makes business sense of the language services and technology market.

Our Company

  • Support
  • About us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to the Slator Weekly

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

© 2021 Slator. All rights reserved.

Sign up to the Slator Weekly

Join over 13,500 subscribers and get the latest language industry intelligence every Friday

Your information will never be shared with third parties. No Spam.