Japanese semiconductor company Renesas Electronics Corp. said Thursday it will acquire Australia-listed U.S. software firm Altium Ltd. for about 9.1 billion Australian dollars ($5.9 billion) to expand amid the chip industry's rapid technological advancement.
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.
The acquisition of Altium, headquartered in California, will also give Renesas insights as to 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.
Shibata said the acquisition price was set based on Altium's leading position in the industry, its rapid growth and potential to accelerate his company's growth strategy.
"This acquisition is different from our past acquisitions in many ways," Shibata said. "We are not just buying Altium's product portfolio. We will make designing electronics much easier for everyone in the industry."
Renesas has bought various chip companies in recent years, including Integrated Device Technology Inc., Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Panthronics AG and Celeno Communications.
Altium had revenue of $263.3 million and booked a net profit of $66.3 million for the year ended June last year, according to Renesas.
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