EU greenlights Synopsys' $35bn acquisition of Ansys
The European Commission (EC) has officially approved Synopsys' move to buy Ansys – subject to Synopsys selling off some competitive assets.
Synopsys and Ansys entered into their USD 35 billion deal a year ago. The objective was to bring together the former's semiconductor electronic design automation (EDA) with Ansys' simulation and analysis portfolio.
Ansys provides simulation solutions for sectors such as aerospace, defence, automotive, and energy. Its products compete with Autodesk’s Fusion 360, AutoCAD, and Dassault Systemes’ Solidworks.
In a statement, the EC said it believed the original merger would reduce competition in global markets for optics software, photonics, and register-transfer-level power consumption analysis software. However, it approved the deal after Synopsys and Ansys agreed to divest overlapping activities in the affected markets.
As such, Synopsys will sell its optics and photonics software, including Code V, LightTools, LucidShape, RSoft, and ImSym. Meanwhile, Ansys will divest its PowerArtist software to Keysight Technologies.
“The commitments fully address the competition concerns by ensuring that there will be sufficient competition and choice in the global markets for the supply of optics, photonics and register-transfer-level power consumption analysis software,” the EC said.
