Healthcare to dominate at Dictaphone with sale of Communication Recording Systems business

Dictaphone Corp. is parting with its Communication Recording Systems (CRS) business to focus more on the healthcare IT market, the dictation and speech recognition vendor announced this week. Dictaphone said that NICE Systems will be acquiring the assets of its CRS business for $38.5 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2005.
   
According to Rob Schwager, chairman and CEO, it is the appropriate time for Dictaphone to focus its personnel, investment and other resources mainly on the healthcare business. Dictaphone's Healthcare Solutions Group deploys dictation, transcription and speech recognition software systems to hospitals in the United States.
   
The company said it will retain its Integrated Voice Systems and other business units. It intends to use the proceeds of the CRS sale to continue the pursuit of its healthcare IT growth strategy and to prepay a portion of its subordinated debt, Dictaphone said.

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