4 on a Friday: AVEVA+OSIsoft a done deal, MuM’s 2020 leads to optimism, Unity acquires for AEC, Ansoft’s Csendes elected to NAE

What a week! Here are a few more things to know before kicking back for the weekend:

On Friday, AVEVA said that it completed its acquisition of OSIsoft. All that’s left now is to issue 13,655,570 million shares to Estudillo Holdings, “a company majority owned by Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy and his family”, part of the purchase agreement. That’s expected to happen early on Monday, after which, AVEVA says, Estudillo will “hold a 4.5% shareholding in AVEVA”. Briefings on the deal are later today.

Mensch und Maschine, the Autodesk reseller and maker of proprietary software including Open Mind, released more details about its 2020 results. Total revenue for 2020 was €244 million, which MuM says is “just below the previous year’s record, but profit and cash flows had double-digit increases to new records through high cost elasticity and growing margin strength during the course of the year”. In other words, strong cost controls led to higher profitability even as revenue was unpredictable because … COVID. Sales of proprietary software were up 1% for the year, while its reseller business was down 2%. Looking ahead, MuM CEO Adi Drotleff expects 2021 to have “seasonality compared to the previous year: Q1 strong, but yet below the all-time records of 2020, and with Q4 being the strongest quarter of the year. From 2022 onwards we expect to return to our long-term achieved growth mode, with +8-12% [per annum] for sales.” Picking up the pace in 2021 seems to be the general consensus across the PLMish space, though this is the first forecast I’ve seen for 2022.

Unity, the VR/AR engine company. announced that it was acquiring VisualLive to expand its footprint in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC). No financial details were disclosed. Unity Reflect is already used to create real-time collaborative environments, which facilitate better communication. VisualLive creates real-time 3D visualization and on-site AR overlays that allow users to inspect and validate designs and real life. Julien Faure, Unity’s GM of Verticals said that “adding VisualLive to our portfolio better allows us to connect the field with the design office, bringing BIM data via augmented and mixed reality to drive better quality assurance and project tracking. This will fundamentally change how design reviews, construction planning, field inspections, and facilities management are conducted.”

Finally, Ansys announced that Zoltan Cendes, former Ansys Chief Technology Officer and founder of Ansoft, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). That’s a really big deal; being nominated and elected to the NAE is arguably the highest professional honor that can be accorded to a US engineer. You can read more about Dr. Cendes’ achievements here.

That’s it. Have a great weekend and happy vernal/autumnal equinox!