Regions

In a surprising move, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has taken a passive position with his new acquisition. Known for his activist stance and change management positions, Icahn has now taken a passive stake in Nuance Communications Inc.

The firm is a digital imaging software creator that provides speech recognition programs for technological devices. He has purchased 9.3% in the company according a CNBC report.

With the purchase, share prices of Nuance jumped 9% to US$1.82 per share after close of markets at the Nasdaq. The investment represents 29,329,291 shares valued at roughly US$645 million.

One of the major technology partners of Nuance is Apple Inc., where it utilizes its speech recognition technology in iPhone devices specifically as part of its 'Siri' voice recognition application. 

Other features offered by Nuance Communications include document creation, editing and conversion tools as well as dictation systems helpful in consumer electronic devices. It has recently announced that it would be launching its voice advertising capabilities for customers.