Ariel Alternatives, a private investment firm, has acquired Sorenson, a communications provider. The selling shareholders, like Blackstone Credit, will continue to own a minority interest in the company.

Sorenson offers caption and video relay services, over-video and in-person sign language and spoken language interpreting, real-time event captioning services, and post-production language services. The firm delivers accessible communications, technology, and services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in the U.S. and, more recently, in the United Kingdom. Ariel Alternatives is the private equity subsidiary of global asset manager Ariel Investments, the first Black-owned investment firm in the U.S.

Sorenson chief executive officer, Jorge Rodriguez commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Ariel Alternatives. Their investment will enable us to optimize our capabilities, evolve our systems, platforms and approaches to improve the overall Deaf and hard-of-hearing communication experience, and accelerate R&D and next-generation technology investments to promote functional equivalency across the diverse communities we serve. I couldn’t be happier that we have closed such a monumental transaction, given our thesis of accessibility, inclusion and economic opportunities as underlying tenets of our mission to support underserved and underrepresented groups.”

Sorenson was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Credit Suisse. Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as lead legal counsel to Ariel Alternatives, with Greenberg Traurig serving as co-counsel.