Siemens, in what is said to be its second largest acquisition to date, has inked an agreement to buy U.S. engineering software provider Altair Engineering, for $10.6 billion. Altair shareholders will receive $113 per share, Siemens reports.The deal is part of the German engineering group’s focus on a sector enhanced by data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI).
To put the price tag in perspective, in the beginning of this year, semiconductor design software maker Synopsis paid $35 billion to acquire Ansys, a leading engineering-simulation software developer.
“Acquiring Altair marks a significant milestone for Siemens,” says said Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens AG. “The addition of Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high performance computing, data science, and artificial intelligence together with Siemens Xcelerator will create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio. It is a logical next step: we have been building our leadership in industrial software for the last 15 years, most recently, democratizing the benefits of data and AI for entire industries.”
After the deal, Siemens will increase its market share from 9% to 15%, shifting it from number 4 to number 2 behind Ansys.
Michigan-based Altair is situated in the product lifecycle management (PLM) industry, a market that represents approximately $10B per year and is projected to grow 10% in the upcoming 5 years, according to Siemens.
“The acquisition of Altair is highly synergistic, underpinning Siemens’ stringent capital allocation, balancing investments and shareholder returns on the basis of a strong balance sheet. The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive two years post-closing,” adds Ralf P. Thomas, chief financial officer of Siemens AG.
The transaction is expected to add to Siemens’ earnings per share in about 2 years from the deal’s closing, expected in the second half of 2025. It will also add about $500 million in annual revenue to Siemens in the mid-term and more than $1 billion per year in the long term, Siemens said.
Altair leadership chimes in: “This acquisition represents the culmination of nearly 40 years in which Altair has grown from a startup in Detroit to a world-class software and technology company. We have added thousands of customers globally in manufacturing, life sciences, energy and financial services, and built an amazing workforce, and innovative culture,” says James Scapa, Altair’s founder and CEO. “We believe this combination of two strongly complementary leaders in the engineering software space brings together Altair’s broad portfolio in simulation, data science, and HPC with Siemens’ strong position in mechanical and EDA design. Siemens’ outstanding technology, strategic customer relationships, and honest, technical culture is an excellent fit for Altair to continue its journey driving innovation with computational intelligence.”
By adding Altair’s simulation portfolio, with focus on mechanical and electromagnetic capabilities, Siemens says it is enhancing its digital twin to deliver a full-suite, physics-based, simulation portfolio as part of Siemens Xcelerator. Altair’s data science and AI-powered simulation capabilities allow engineers to access simulation expertise to accelerate design iterations. Additionally, Altair’s data science capabilities will enhance Siemens’ industrial domain expertise in product lifecycle and manufacturing processes, Siemens reports.
The Altair HPCWorks portfolio includes HPC (High Performance Computing) hardware for on-premise use as well as HPC via the cloud. The Altair Hyperworks portfolio includes simulation software for AI integration. The addition of these products to Siemens’ portfolio widens the range of markets and customers Siemens can attract and serve.
On LinkedIn, Todd Tuthill, VP of aerospace, defense, and marine, Siemens Digital Industries Software, noted, “All the great things industry has come to expect from Siemens Xcelerator are about to get more powerful, and easier to use as we add Altar’s AI capability across our comprehensive suite of solutions.”
Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.
