The Largest Scale in Company History... Japanese Media Calls It a "Winning Move"
Software Capabilities Established to Improve Design Efficiency
Japanese automotive semiconductor company Renesas Electronics has announced the acquisition of Altium, a U.S. electronic circuit design software company. This overseas acquisition, costing approximately 8 trillion Korean won, represents the largest investment in Renesas' acquisition history. As semiconductor design becomes increasingly complex, this move is expected to enhance software competitiveness, a core capability, and is regarded as a symbolic acquisition that could accelerate the revival of the Japanese semiconductor industry.
Renesas production facility in Japan / [Photo source: Screenshot from Renesas official website video]
On the 15th, Renesas announced that it will acquire 100% of Altium's issued shares listed on the Australian market. The company will invest about 9.1 billion Australian dollars (7.8974 trillion Korean won) to purchase a total of 133,279,432 shares at 68.50 Australian dollars per share. The acquisition is planned to be completed in the second half of the year after obtaining approvals from Altium shareholders and relevant authorities.
Altium provides software tools that enable the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs) used when mounting semiconductor chips on the cloud. It is a leading company in this field. Its headquarters are in California, USA, and it is based in Australia, where it is listed locally. For the fiscal year 2023, which ended in June last year, its revenue was 263 million dollars, a 19.2% increase compared to the previous year.
Renesas decided to acquire Altium to reduce input costs and production inefficiencies in the increasingly complex semiconductor design process. The company explained, "This acquisition enables us to build an integrated open 'electronic system design and lifecycle management platform,'" adding, "This business is closely linked to Renesas' digitalization strategy."
Following Renesas' acquisition decision, local Japanese evaluations described it as "Renesas taking a decisive gamble." The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) stated, "After becoming a profitable company through management restructuring, Renesas has been acquiring overseas companies one after another," emphasizing, "As software has become the main battleground, Renesas has made a bold move." It also noted, "The competition axis in the semiconductor industry is shifting towards improving design and development environments."
Renesas President Hidetoshi Shibata also emphasized at an online press conference that "Together with Altium, we will create new solutions, provide them to the market, and shape the future," adding, "Although we have made several cross-border acquisitions in recent years, this acquisition is very different in nature." Altium CEO Alam Milkasemi also called it "a major industry event," stating, "It will bring about significant changes going forward."
Renesas is active in the global automotive semiconductor market alongside Germany's Infineon and the Netherlands' NXP. It is especially the number one company in the microcontroller unit (MCU) field necessary for automotive electronic system control. Although it faced difficulties with deficits in the early 2010s, it has grown after restructuring in 2012. Recently, it has been strengthening its software capabilities, having acquired the embedded artificial intelligence (AI) solution company Reality Analytics in 2022.
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