Texthelp Ltd acquires the Lingit Group
Belfast, 10th March 2021: Texthelp Ltd, the global leader in literacy and accessibility technology, has acquired the Lingit Group. This deal will enable the best assistive technologies to be brought to many more students around the world. The acquisition was completed on Monday 8th March.
The Lingit Group currently serves literacy and accessibility technology customers across Europe. Together, Texthelp and Lingit will offer a wider and improved range of assistive technologies to their customers in the UK, USA and Australia. Lingit will also be able to provide Texthelp Maths products to their customers for the first time.
Martin McKay, Founder & CEO, Texthelp said: “I have long admired the Lingit Group and in particular how aligned their mission is to ours. We share a belief that everyone has the right to understand and be understood. I am delighted that Frode and his team will now be joining the Texthelp family as we continue to grow our global reach together. Lingit is already helping millions of people, and together we can make an impact on even more people’s lives. We want to continue to provide disabled students with the wide choice of tools currently available to them and improve their user experience. In the future, our combined expertise and reach will drive more rapid product improvements for many more people around the world.”
Frode Thulien CEO at Lingit, commented “This is a really exciting moment for the Lingit Group as we join forces with Texthelp. Purpose has always been at the heart of what we do, and this deal will enable us to bring our products to a wider audience around the world, helping more students benefit from our software. I am looking forward to working with Martin and the team in the coming months as we focus on our joint ambition of creating equal opportunities for all.”
Joakim Kjemperud, Principal at Verdane, said: “We want to thank Frode and the Lingit Group team for an exciting growth journey together. Since partnering with Verdane in 2017, Lingit has grown from Norway’s leading provider of reading and writing support software to Northern Europe’s preferred software platform for smart, inclusive technology that helps people read, write and express their thoughts and share information more accurately and fluently across all stages of life. In just four years, Lingit’s annual number of licenses sold has grown more than sixfold. In partnership with the stellar team at Texthelp, this important enterprise to create equal opportunities for all enters its next stage of growth, to the benefit of avid readers and writers across Northern Europe,”
Verdane, which was the majority shareholder in Lingit Group, will remain as a minority owner in the new, combined group and continue to support its future growth.
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About Texthelp
Texthelp is an education and corporate technology company, helping students and people of all abilities improve their reading, writing and maths skills, both in schools and in the workplace. The company’s purpose is to help individuals to understand and be understood. Through the use of Texthelp software, the company wants to unlock everyone’s full ability and realise their potential.
The company, founded in 1996, employs more than 180 people across offices in Belfast, Boston and. Brisbane. It has over 30 million users worldwide and was founded through personal experience and motivation.
About the Lingit Group
Lingit provides the support needed to create more inclusive learning and working environments. The company strives towards creating equal opportunities for all to read, write and understand. Lingit’s tailored software offers multilingual literacy support for dyslexics and others with reading and writing difficulties.
The Lingit Group comprises three companies with a position in Northern Europe and the UK, rapidly expanding its services to international markets. Lingit was founded in 2001 by leading academics at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, and employs close to 50 competent people across offices in Trondheim and Bergen in Norway, and Preston and Cardiff in the UK.
Corporate site (in English) www.lingit.com Trading site (Norwegian market, in Norwegian www.lingit.no)
Contact
For Texthelp:
Niamh Fox