Two European language service providers (LSPs) — RWS and Keywords Studios — were recently awarded Alternative Investment Market (AIM) Awards.
The AIM, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that allows smaller companies to go public with a more flexible set of regulations, held its annual awards ceremony Oct. 14. RWS Group was awarded the “Best Use of AIM Award” while Keywords Studios’ newly retired CEO Andrew Day received the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award.” The two companies were the only LSPs to win AIM Awards this year.
RWS Group’s CEO Ian El-Mokadem noted in a LinkedIn post that the company received this award for the company’s GBP 809 million ($1.066 billion) merger with SDL, which took place in August 2020.
The move was reported to be the UK’s largest technology deal in 2020, with experts at Nimdzi telling MultiLingual that “for the first time in the history of the language services industry, a company from the United Kingdom will be leading the market.” The merger made RWS the largest LSP in the world, outranking US-based TransPerfect, which had held the position for three years. (Nimdzi is a sister company of MultiLingual Media).
“Many congratulations and thanks to everyone who made the deal happen and to all my colleagues who have worked so hard and positively to bring the two groups together,” El-Mokadem wrote in his LinkedIn post.
Keywords Studios was also nominated for the “Best Use of AIM Award,” after undergoing another significant acquisition in 2020. The Dublin-based LSP acquired Maverick Media in 2020 in a deal worth GBP 3.6 million ($4.7 million). Keywords Studios also acquired a handful of other companies recently, including Indigo Pearl and Coconut Lizard.
The company’s former CEO, Andrew Day announced a leave of absence in March 2021 and later decided to step down entirely from his role in June. Board members John Hauck and Sonia Sedler promptly stepped in to serve as joint interim. It was later announced that Bertrand Bronson, formerly the chief digital officer of healthcare company Novartis, would step into the role, beginning in December 2021. Day received the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” for his work with the company.
“The award is a fitting recognition and we thank Andrew again for his incredible commitment and leadership during his 12 years with Keywords,” Keywords Studios wrote in a LinkedIn post.
