Renesas To Acquire U.S. Software Firm Altium For $5.9-B

Japanese semiconductor company Renesas Electronics Corp. said it will acquire Australia-listed US software firm Altium Ltd. for about A$9.1 billion ($5.9 billion) to expand amid the chip industry's rapid technological advancement, Kyodo News reported.

Renesas aims to create an electronics design platform that is more efficient and easier to use than existing services. I Photo: Renesas Electronics Corporation

By acquiring Altium, which provides printed circuit board design tools for developing electronic devices, Renesas aims to create an electronics design platform that is more efficient and easier to use than existing services, the Japanese company said.

Companies making chips using conventional methods could lose their competitive advantage as designing electronic devices grows more complex, Renesas President Hidetoshi Shibata said in an online press conference, as reported by Mainichi Japan.

The acquisition of Altium, headquartered in California, will also give Renesas insights into what type of chips customers really want and allow it to come up with better product solutions, he said.

The Japanese company said it will acquire all outstanding shares of Altium, originally founded in Australia, in the second half of this year and make the company a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The offer price of 68.50 Australian dollars per share represents a roughly 34 percent premium on Altium's closing price on Wednesday. Renesas said it will take out a new loan and use cash reserves to finance the deal.

WEEKLY FEATURE : Jose Mari Chan And The Christmas Anthem