M*Modal sells tech business to 3M for $1 billion

Tom Paine


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M*Modal, the surviving named entity from then Mt Laurel-based MedQuist's acquisition of M*Modal in 2011, sold off the technology side of its medical transcription business to 3M for $1 billion. it announced yesterday.

M*Modal, previously based in Pittsburgh, was bought by MedQuist Holdings in July 2011 for $130 million. MedQuist changed its own corporate name to M*Modal the following January, and the company's headquarters were moved to the Nashville area later in 2012.

M*Modal, a CMU spinout, provides health care technology and artificial intelligence-powered conversational systems used in transcribing doctors’ verbal notes.

M*Modal will continue in the transcription, scribing and coding services businesses, using the technology it is selling to 3M. Some staff & management associated with the transcription business still work from Mt Laurel, but most of the transcription work is now outsourced or done in countries such as India.

M*Modal had been on a somewhat rocky road, selling to One Equity Partners, a private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co., for $1.1 billion in 2012, and declaring bankruptcy in 2014.

About 750 M*Modal employees supporting the technology business, which is based in Pittsburgh, are expected to join 3M. The business M*Modal is selling has annual revenue of approximately $200 million.

One year ago, Nuance Communications filed a patent infringement lawsuit against M*Modal that alleges the company’s products violated six Nuance patents.

There are many 'M's in this transaction, as 3M's ticker symbol is MMM.