Altium to be bought by Japanese chipmaker Renesas for nearly $US 6Billion
From the “I did not see this coming” file, news just broke that Renesas Electronics will acquire Altium for AUS$9.1 billion (roughly $5.91 billion) in an all-cash transaction. You may remember that in 2021, Autodesk offered AUS$38.50 per share for Altium, or around US$3.9 billion at that time. In the end, Altium said no. Now we know what kind of figure Altium had in mind …
Renesas will pay A$68.50 per share, a 34% premium to Altium’s closing price on the Australian stock exchange on Wednesday, 14 February. Renesas says both companies’ boards of directors have approved the deal and that the acquisition should be completed in the second half of 2024. Of course, Altium shareholders, Australian courts, and regulators in Australia and Japan (and perhaps other jurisdictions) must approve before anything can close.
Who? Renesas Electronics Corporation says it’s a “leading global provider of microcontrollers [with] expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions.” It mentions automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications customers, “enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live.” I had not heard of them and will need to remedy that!
Renesas’ statement about the deal is interesting. It says, in part,
“Under its Purpose, “To Make Our Lives Easier,” Renesas has been expanding its product portfolio of embedded processors, analog, power, and connectivity, with an aim to becoming a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions. Furthermore, Renesas has been advancing its digitization strategy that enables enhanced user experience (UX) through cloud-based development …
“The acquisition enables two industry leaders to join forces and establish an integrated and open “electronics system design and lifecycle management platform” that allows for collaboration across component, subsystem, and system-level design. The transaction 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.
“Together, Renesas and Altium, under a shared vision, aim to build an integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform that unifies these steps at a system level. The 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 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 significantly faster innovation and lowers barriers to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies.
Of course, investors will care about this part: “The acquisition strengthens Renesas’ financial profile … The transaction is immediately accretive to earnings without synergies; the combined company expects to achieve earnings impact from revenue and cost synergies after the completion of the transaction.”
As of 6pm ET on 14 Feb, Altium’s investor and news websites don’t have anything about this, but Renesas’ press releases (here: https://www.renesas.com/us/en/about/press-room/regarding-acquisition-stock-altium-limited and https://www.renesas.com/us/en/about/press-room/renesas-acquire-pcb-design-software-leader-altium-make-electronics-design-accessible-broader-market) lead me to believe this is not a hack. The companies plan to host an investor presentation and we should be able to see the replay here: https://www.altium.com/company/investor-relations/investor-center/faq or https://www.altium.com/company/newsroom/press-releases.
Never a dull moment.
