TransPerfect has announced that it has acquired one of the leading language service providers in Switzerland and Germany, Swiss-based Apostroph Group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Apostroph Group has consolidated its position as a regional leader through its buy-and-build strategy led by private equity owners ECM Equity Capital Management, which acquired the company in 2016.
Apostroph’s strategy saw the company acquire multiple LSPs in the region, including its most recent acquisitions USG and Global Translations in 2020, and Marco Gehring Communications in 2022.
Commenting to Slator on the rationale behind the deal, TransPerfect’s President and Co-CEO Phil Shawe said, “The Apostroph team has a history of exhibiting innovation, client-focus, and creativity, and they have successfully developed one of the leading brands in the DACH region.”
“We saw an opportunity to add additional local expertise and talent to the TransPerfect team. At the same time, we believe the Apostroph clients may benefit from TransPerfect’s technology and global footprint. We see this match as a great fit,” he added.
Shawe confirmed that while Apostrophe’s 2024 revenues were “roughly flat” compared to 2023, the company would be on-boarding all of the LSP’s employees as part of the deal, which sees TransPerfect add nine offices to its existing local footprint in Berlin, Munich, and Zurich.
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Shawe’s Views on the Swiss Market
TransPerfect has been present in the Swiss market for over two decades, having opened a Geneva office in 2004 and a presence in Zurich in 2010. Shawe told Slator, “Our view of the Swiss market is that its customers demand very high quality and the utmost in data privacy and security. We intend to maintain Apostroph’s physical offices throughout Switzerland and Germany, and we intend to leverage their existing data infrastructure and compliance expertise in the DACH region.”
The Super Agency confirmed that Apostroph will continue to retain its brand identity “for the immediate future,” and will operate as a division within the TransPerfect Group. Apostroph’s CEO Philipp Meier will lead the new division, who commented that TransPerfect’s “global scale and significant R&D resources would bring transformative benefits” to Apostroph.
The acquisition marks the second deal of the year for TransPerfect, which recently acquired global contact center H2A. Asked about the expansion into the contact center market Shawe explained: “Contact center solutions are a significant focus area for TransPerfect. Adding H2A expands our footprint for this service line in Europe — and especially France.”
