Happy Spring! While you’ve been out gathering daffodils (not us – we had snow last weekend here in New England), the PLMish world has kept up a steady stream of news. In no particular order,

Bentley Systems announced that Nicholas Cumins will become CEO as of 1 July 2024, as current CEO Greg Bentley moves up to Executive Chairman of the Board. This shouldn’t be a surprise; Mr. Cumins joined Bentley just before the company’s IPO in 2020 as Chief Product Officer and has been COO since 2022. In the announcement, Mr. Bentley said, “I am very pleased to be able to retire from CEO responsibilities this year [and that Mr. Cumins’ appointment] leaves Bentley Systems demonstrably able to increase its potential, while safeguarding its established performance.” He went on to say that he is “excited by the resolve and zeal of Nicholas and this next generation of leaders for technical and commercial innovation within our sustained mission.” Mr. Bentley also noted that post-IPO, many long-time senior staffers retired, which “reinvigorated our executive leadership with a high-functioning cadre that, while 20 years younger, benefits from valuable public-company experience and is already reaching its collaborative stride”. That last bit is so interesting: how the wave of retirements after the IPO and the space this made for new leadership — often from outside the company. Read more here: https://investors.bentley.com/news-releases/news-release-details/marking-its-40th-anniversary-bentley-systems-announces-ceo

And the acquisitions continue. Jama Software, which competes with PTC’s Integrity and Codebeamer, and Siemens’ Polarion, among others, will be acquired by Francisco Partners for $1.2 billion. No revenue details were given, but the headline said Jama saw an “organic tripling of recurring revenue in 5 years.” Francisco is acquiring the company from shareholders, including Insight Partners and Madrona Ventures; current Jama CEO Marc Osofsky will personally reinvest and continue to lead Jama after the deal closes. More here: https://www.jamasoftware.com/press/francisco-partners-to-acquire-jama-software-for-1-2b/

JDM Technology Group, a holding company for many AEC industry brands, has acquired Penta Technologies and STRUXI. Contractors in North America use Penta technology to automate field reporting, while STRUXI specializes in construction labor management. No financial details were given. JDM also owns Computer Guidance Corporation, Explorer Software, JOBPOWER, and Maestro Technologies in its construction portfolio, among others — I had no idea how big it is: it says it has 180,000 users in 40 countries on seven continents. Read more here: https://computerguidance.com/pentaacquisition/  Why tell you this? Because I get so many questions about the technology used in AEC projects, and the people asking often don’t believe me when I say there are hundreds of solutions; it’s not just Autodesk, Bentley, Trimble, and the other obvious, big choices. Hundreds, people.

Stratasys acquired Arevo, Inc.’s intellectual property portfolio for its “carbon fiber printing, Z-strength improvement achieved by localized laser melting and roller compaction, in-situ and AI build monitoring, and hardware design.” Stratasys will incorporate this technology in its Stratasys FDM print systems. Terms were not disclosed. Why tell you about this one? Not all companies succeed, even if their ideas are technologically innovative — and it’s important to know that there is often a way for those innovations to live on even if the business doesn’t. Arevo closed its doors in 2023 after its Aqua printers failed to find a market. https://investors.stratasys.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/880/stratasys-acquires-arevos-technology-portfolio 

And before you ask, yes, the Synopsys + Ansys deal is still on, even though it appears Chinese regulators may be taking a closer look. According to various news reports, it’s possible that Chinese domestic competitors, users, and industry associations “raised some horizontal concerns and asked the regulator to review the deal even though it fell below newly implemented thresholds.” Even so, the news reports I’ve seen say that the Chinese regulator is still expected to approve the acquisition. Neither company is saying anything about it; it’s still in the early days of the approval process. More here: https://seekingalpha.com/news/4083770-china-antitrust-regulator-engaging-with-third-parties-on-ansyssynopsys-deal-report.

I’m still digging out the massive inbox so likely — more soon!

Those pretty daffodils in the title image are from https://www.flickr.com/photos/pavdw/17797924449