Norton Rose Fulbright advises Ai-Media on acquisition of Alternative Communications Services, LLC

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Access Innovation Holdings Limited (Ai-Media), a global provider of technology-enabled live and recorded captioning, transcription, translation and audio description services, headquartered in Sydney, on the acquisition of Alternative Communication Services, LLC (ACS).

ACS is a captioning, translation and interpreting service provider, and a market leader in voice-to-text services including CART captions, captioning, sign language interpreting, post-production closed captioning, transcriptions and translation services and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Tony Abrahams, Ai-Media CEO and Co-Founder said: 

“This transaction is the largest that we have undertaken to date, and was completed by way of exceptional collaboration in extraordinary circumstances.”

The acquisition ran to a truncated timetable and the cross-border Norton Rose Fulbright team from Australia and the United States advised on the multi-jurisdictional legal aspects of the transaction including the acquisition process, negotiations on the acquisition documentation and closing.  

The Norton Rose Fulbright team based in Sydney was led by corporate M&A partner Ben Smits, supported by Senior Associate Adam Hunter, Associates Hugo Gotterson and Meg Murray, Lawyer Sassica Hoolahan and Law Graduate Joyce Shi. The Norton Rose Fulbright United States team included partner Lior Nuchi and Senior Associate Gary Padrta. 

Norton Rose Fulbright corporate M&A partner Ben Smits said: 

“We are pleased to have assisted Ai-Media on the completion of this transaction which is a particularly noteworthy achievement in the current COVID-19 environment. The current pandemic and the Trans-Pacific characteristics of the transaction required the team to overcome a number of legal and logistical challenges throughout the course of the deal.”

The acquisition, which closed on 4 May 2020, involved Norton Rose Fulbright working closely with Ai-Media and its other professional advisers in Australia and the United States to ensure the most efficient outcome for Ai-Media. 

For more information, contact:

Alex Boxsell, Head of Digital Content & Campaigns, Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia
Tel: +61 (0)2 9330 8165 Mob: +61 (0)414 985 556
alex.boxsell@nortonrosefulbright.com 

Angela Han, Communications Executive, Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia
Tel: +61 (0)2 9330 8610   Mob: +61 (0)438 429 798
angela.han@nortonrosefulbright.com