On August 3, 2023, Denmark-headquartered language service provider (LSP) LanguageWire announced it has acquired Finnish translation and interpreting provider Delingua. The terms of the transaction, which closed on July 31, 2023, are undisclosed.
Delingua focuses on providing translation and interpreting to Finland’s private and public sectors. It holds a number of public sector contracts, such as for the Finnish Ministry of Justice and the TRAD19 framework.
LanguageWire’s CEO Søren Bech Justesen told Slator “The Finnish market for translation and localisation services is attractive, and Delingua has a solid track record and deep expertise, having built many long-term customer relationships among leading brands in Finland.”
The acquisition sees LanguageWire strengthen its position in the Nordic region where (after the company’s major rival, Semantix, was acquired by TransPerfect in 2021) LanguageWire is already the largest LSP by revenue.
LanguageWire swapped its previous majority owner for a new private equity backer, also in 2021, and went on to acquire two French translation agencies — AWS and A.D.T.. Doing so has expanded LanguageWire’s footprint in France further after it acquired Belgian-headquartered rival Xplanation in 2018.
Slator 2022 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report
44-pages on 2022 translation and localization industry acquisitions and translation startup investments, with valuations, deal rationale.
In 2022, LanguageWire generated revenues of EUR 64.1m, while Delingua’s revenues stood at EUR 6.1m. According to LanguageWire’s press release, the Delingua acquisition brings combined revenues to more than EUR 80m (USD 87.8m), placing the company in the top 10 for LSPs in Europe and among the top 25 globally.
The company now employs over 450 employees and operates in 14 countries.
Interpreting and Market Trends
Asked about Delingua’s interpreting services, Bech Justesen said, “Delingua focuses on conference interpreting both on-site and remotely, and is a one-stop-shop for many of the leading brands in Finland for both translation and interpreting services.”
He added, “The global interpreting market is expected to expand and, accordingly, we have seen an increased demand coming from remote and hybrid meetings with interpretation, as they allow companies to have more participants and languages in their meetings.”
Discussing trends in the market for language services in 2023 so far, Bech Justesen said, “With current trends driven by technology, we believe that tech-enabled players of scale will be well-positioned to take an increasingly larger share of the overall market, while more traditional service providers will likely find it more challenging to compete. Therefore, we continue to invest in our Language Management Ecosystem including developments in AI and Large Language Models.”
According to Bech Justesen, Delingua’s CEO and Founder, Katja Virtanen, and the Delingua leadership team will join LanguageWire. The two companies will eventually operate fully as one, with integration and cooperation evolving gradually.