Renesas to buy PCB design software firm Altium for US$5.9 billion

Business news | February 15, 2024

By Peter Clarke

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Japanese chip company Renesas Electronics Corp. has said it plans to acquire PCB design software firm Altium Ltd. for Aus$9.1 billion (about US$5.9 billion).

The move is an extension of Renesas’ mainstream business, which is predominantly the supply of digital and mixed-signal chips for automotive and industrial applications.

Renesas said the acquisition, which has been agreed unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies, will allow it to accelerate growth through the creation of a system-level integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform. The deal is expected to close in the 2H24.

The move by Renesas is a not dissimilar swim upstream, to that made by Siemens when it acquired EDA company Mentor Graphics in March 2017.

Renesas said that transaction will align with its own digitalization strategy and represents the first significant step in offering products and services at the systems level. The company added that systems design has become so complex that it is necessary to consider multiple aspects – electronic, mechanical and thermal – to achieve successful designs in short time scales.

Altium offers cloud platform for design that is being brought together with Renesas chips. The combination will also enable integration with third-party vendors across the ecosystem, Renesas said.

Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas, said the purpose of the acquisition is to make electronics design accessible to the broader market to allow more innovation through a cloud-based platform. Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium, said his company has already been working with Renesas for nearly two years.

Altium had annual revenue of US$263 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Altium shareholders, Australian court approval as well as regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Altium will continue to be led by CEO Aram Mirkazemi as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renesas.