RWS Holdings, a provider of intellectual property support services, in life sciences translations and linguistic validation, completed the acquisition of SDL, a language translation software and services provider, for $1.1bn. SDL scheme shareholders received 1.2246 new RWS shares for each SDL share. SDL shareholders now own 29.5% of the combined company, while RWS shareholders hold the rest. "Bringing together our two businesses creates the world's leading language services and technology group, allowing us to provide a broader and enhanced offer to an expanded client base. As a сombined group we will have comprehensive capabilities across a range of language services, language and content software and solutions, and IP services, further enhancing the two companies' customer propositions," Andrew Brode, RWS Chairman.