Industry-Leading Language Services Company Specializing in Healthcare Acquired by BIG Language Solutions to Launch Next Stage Growth.
ATLANTA and LOS ANGELES (Sept. 11, 2020) – BIG Language Solutions announces its acquisition of ISI Language Solutions, a leading provider of customized services in more than 150 languages for the healthcare, insurance, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries. The deal closed on September 11, 2020. BIG was founded by CEO Jeff Brink in partnership with MSouth Equity Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Atlanta and Nashville and substantial resources including $2.2 billion in assets under management.
With headquarters in Los Angeles, ISI enables successful communication through full-service language and localization solutions from a robust team of linguists deeply rooted in the cultural and technical nuances of virtually every language used in business. The company was founded in 1982 and excels in regulatory and compliance driven industries, particularly healthcare and insurance. As a leader in this market space, ISI has secured a number of safety and security certifications that allow its team to handle protected health information (PHI) which falls under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This includes receiving certified status for information security by the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST).
The entire team at ISI will remain in place and continue to conduct business as usual. BIG’s focus will be on investing and building on the foundation built by ISI leadership over the last 36 years through added resources and technology, designed to stimulate intentional and controlled growth.
“Language services is equal parts art and science that necessitates a robust technology platform balanced with the human element paying close attention to language nuance and message meaning,” says ISI President Michael Bearden, who leads the company alongside COO Emilie Villeneuve. “Because the world is moving faster, requiring more compliance and technology, our partnership with BIG is a strategic one that will allow us to deliver services even better through new efficiencies. What won’t change is our focus on customers and the employee-centered culture we’ve built for nearly four decades.”
BIG is disrupting the highly fragmented $50 billion language industry by assembling a portfolio of high-performing and complementary language service providers (LSPs), adding significant value and leveraging synergies for the collective benefit of its companies and customers. The company is led by Jeff Brink, a 25-year language industry veteran, known for his innovation and success in building leading LSPs.
“ISI’s relationships with its customers, seasoned and dedicated employees, and successful business model are true measures of the company’s success and not something we want to change,” says Brink. “Michael and Emilie operate ISI as a boutique LSP that cares about service continuity and white-glove customization for clients and their specific needs. I look forward to working together and helping build ISI into an even better version of itself.”
BIG’s investment in ISI provides access to best-in-class technology platforms and infrastructure, but culture fit was the defining influence. “Improving our human capital and internal systems to better serve our clients and employees is the best way we knew to take our company to the next level,” says ISI COO Villeneuve. “What makes this acquisition most exciting is the alignment on values we have with BIG and the other companies in the portfolio. It has been an easy, constructive relationship from our very first meeting with everyone at the table figuring out what is best for all involved.”
Villeneuve and Bearden will remain as COO and President, respectively, and they will join BIG’s legacy advisory board (LAB) to counsel on industry best-practices and stay highly involved with the larger organization working collaboratively with other acquired business owners.
“The world grows increasingly interconnected every day and language services, like every other industry, is having to adapt to new pandemic protocols and cultural implications,” adds Bearden. “BIG is a capital partner who shares our vision and will help us get there. Jeff and his team have built a unique seller-friendly acquisition model that Emilie and I found appealing as we considered the future.”
The team at BIG and MSouth envision substantial follow-on investment to include subsequent acquisitions, enhanced technology, and a growth-oriented infrastructure. BIG is headquartered in Atlanta’s Buckhead business district. For more information, visit biglanguage.com.
About ISI Language Solutions:
Founded in 1982, ISI Language Solutions is a leading provider of industry-specific language and localization solutions. The company is based in Los Angeles and specializes in providing turnkey linguistic support for organizations in healthcare, insurance, life sciences, and pharmaceutical. ISI has earned certified status for information security by the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) confirming that ISI meets the industry’s most stringent standards for managing information security risk. Learn more at isilanguagesolutions.com.
About BIG Language Solutions:
BIG Language Solutions is disrupting the language industry by assembling a portfolio of high-performing and complementary language service providers, then adding value and leveraging synergies for the collective benefit of these companies and customers. BIG’s acquisition focus is on successful and profitable LSPs around the globe with motivated owners who want to remain involved and share in the group’s success. Based in Atlanta, BIG is led by language industry veterans with a history of innovation and success and founded in partnership with MSouth Equity Partners. Learn more at biglanguage.com.
