(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp. is in advanced talks to buy artificial intelligence and speech technology company Nuance Communications Inc. for about $ 16 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The price being discussed could value Nuance around $ 56 per share, the source said, adding that a deal could be announced as early as Monday.
Bloomberg News, which for the first time reported the agreement between Nuance and Microsoft, said Bloom.bg/2Qgfm7e talks are continuing and the talks may still fall apart.
Burlington, Massachusetts, Nuance, whose voice recognition technology helped launch Apple Inc.’s assistant Siri, makes software for sectors ranging from healthcare to the automotive industry.
The deal with Nuance would be Microsoft’s second largest deal after acquiring LinkedIn’s $ 26.2 billion in 2016.
Microsoft and Nuance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in New York; Edited by Daniel Wallis and Lisa Shumaker