Renesas Electronics (a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions) and Altium Limited (a global leader in electronics design systems) announced they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement (SIA) for Renesas to acquire Altium by way of a Scheme of Arrangement under Australian law.
Under the terms of the transaction, subject to satisfaction of several conditions, Renesas will buy all outstanding shares of Altium for a cash price of A$68.50 per share, representing a total equity value of approximately A$9.1 billion (about 887.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$) and an enterprise value of A$8.8 billion (approximately 859.3 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$).
This acquisition enables two industry leaders to join forces and establish an integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform that enables for collaboration across component, subsystem, and system-level design. And the deal strongly aligns with Renesas’ digitalization strategy and represents the company’s first significant step in bringing enhanced user experience and innovation at the system level for electronics system designers.
Renesas and Altium aim to build an integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform that unifies these steps at a system level. This acquisition brings together Altium’s sophisticated cloud platform capabilities with Renesas’ strong portfolio of embedded solutions, combining high-performance processors, analog, power and connectivity.
The combination also enables integration with third-party vendors across the ecosystem to execute all electronic design steps seamlessly on the cloud. The electronics system design and lifecycle management platform will deliver integration and standardization of various electronic design data and functions and enhanced component lifecycle management while enabling seamless digital iteration of design processes to increase overall productivity. This brings faster innovation and lowers barriers to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies.
Altium’s history started in 1985 in Australia as one of the world’s first printed-circuit board (PCB) design tool providers. The company has grown into a global market leader with the most popular PCB software tool in use today.
The software tools empower and connect PCB designers, part suppliers, and manufacturers to develop and manufacture electronics products faster and more efficiently. With the addition of the world’s first digital platform for the design and realization of electronics hardware, Altium 365, Altium’s leading PCB design software, creates seamless collaboration across the entire PCB design process.
In June 2023, Renesas announced that it standardized the development of all PCB designs on the Altium 365 cloud-based platform from Altium. And Renesas has been working with Altium to publish all its products’ ECAD libraries to the Altium Public Vault. With features such as manufacturer part search on Altium365, customers can choose Renesas parts directly from the Altium library for faster time to market.
The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second half of 2024. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Altium shareholders, Australian court approval as well as regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.
Deutsche Bank is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Renesas. And DLA Piper LLP, Covington & Burling LLP and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu are serving as Renesas’ legal counsel.
J.P. Morgan Securities is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Altium; King & Wood Mallesons and Reed Smith LLP are serving as Altium’s legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“Development processes continue to evolve and accelerate. With our Purpose “To Make Our Lives Easier” in mind, our vision is to make electronics design accessible to the broader market to allow more innovation through a cloud-based platform. Addition of Altium will enable us to deliver an integrated and open development platform, making it easier for businesses of all sizes and industries to build and scale their systems. We look forward to working with Altium’s talented team as we continue to invest and drive our combined platform to the next level of value for our customers.”
- Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas
“I strongly believe that electronics is the single most critical industry to building a smart and sustainable world. Renesas’s visionary leadership and commitment to making electronics accessible to all resonates strongly with Altium. Altium’s vision of industry transformation finds its fullest expression in service of this grand vision of Renesas. Having worked closely with Renesas as a partner for nearly two years, we are excited to be part of the Renesas team as we continue to successfully execute and grow.”
- Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium
