Portland digital archivist Smarsh has acquired a company in London that specializes in preserving voice conversations.

According to Smarsh, the European Commission is designing regulations that would require investment firms to preserve all conversations around a prospective transaction, whether or not the transaction ultimately takes place.

Cognia, the company Smarsh bought on Thursday, offers electronic archiving of voice recordings - plus capabilities for searching and analyzing audio. Cognia employs a dozen people and Smarsh said it intends to retain them all.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699