TOKYO, Japan, February 15, 2024 JST | SAN DIEGO, Calif., February 14, 2024 — Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of semiconductor solutions, and Altium Limited, a electronics design systems, announced they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement (“SIA”) for Renesas to acquire Altium by way of a Scheme of Arrangement under Australian law. Under the terms of the transaction, subject to satisfaction of a number of conditions, Renesas will acquire all outstanding shares of Altium for a cash price of A$68.50 per share, representing a total equity value of approximately A$9.1 billion (approximately 887.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$) and an enterprise value of A$8.8 billion (approximately 859.3 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$).
The acquisition enables two industry leaders to join forces and establish an integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform that allows for collaboration across component, subsystem, and system-level design. The transaction strongly aligns with Renesas’ digitalization strategy. It represents the company’s first significant step in bringing enhanced user experience and innovation at the system level for electronics system designers.
As technology advances, the design and integration of electronic systems become increasingly complex. The current electronics system design flow is a complicated and iterative process. It involves multiple stakeholders and design steps, from component selection and evaluation to simulation and PCB physical design. Engineers must be able to design systems that are not only functional but also efficient. They must do so under shortened development cycles while ensuring cost-effectiveness.
Renesas and Altium, under a shared vision, aim to build an integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform. This platform unifies these steps at a system level. The acquisition brings together Altium’s sophisticated cloud platform capabilities. It merges them with Renesas’ strong portfolio of embedded solutions, combining high-performance processors, analog, power, and connectivity. The combination will also enable integration with third-party vendors across the ecosystem. Moreover, this integration will allow seamless execution of all electronic design steps on the cloud. The electronics system design and lifecycle management platform will deliver integration and standardization of various electronic design data and functions. It will also enhance component lifecycle management, while enabling seamless digital iteration of design processes to increase overall productivity. This brings significantly faster innovation and lowers barriers to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies.
“Development processes continue to evolve and accelerate. With our Purpose “To Make Our Lives Easier” in mind, our vision is to make electronics design accessible to the broader market to allow more innovation through a cloud-based platform,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas. “Adding Altium will enable us to deliver an integrated and open development platform. Moreover, this will make it easier for businesses of all sizes and industries to build and scale their systems. We look forward to working with Altium’s talented team. We aim to continue investing and driving our combined platform to the next level of value for our customers.”
“I strongly believe that electronics is the single most critical industry to building a smart and sustainable world. Renesas’s visionary leadership and commitment to making electronics accessible to all resonates strongly with Altium. Altium’s vision of industry transformation finds its fullest expression in service of this grand vision of Renesas,” said Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium. “We have worked closely with Renesas as a partner for nearly two years. Moreover, we are excited to be part of the Renesas team as we continue to successfully execute and grow.”
Altium’s history began in 1985 from Australia as one of the world’s first printed-circuit board (PCB) design tool providers. Moreover, the company has grown into a global market leader with the most popular PCB software tool in use today. Its software tools empower PCB designers, part suppliers, and manufacturers. They also help develop and manufacture electronics products faster and more efficiently.
Altium 365, the world’s first digital platform for design and realization of electronics hardware, has been added. Altium’s leading PCB design software creates seamless collaboration across the entire PCB design process. In June 2023, Renesas announced that it had standardized development of all PCB design on the Altium 365 cloud-based platform from Altium. Renesas has also been working with Altium to publish all its products’ ECAD libraries to the Altium Public Vault. Customers can choose Renesas parts directly from the Altium library for faster time to market. Moreover, with features such as manufacturer part search on Altium365.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. It is expected to close in the second half of 2024. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Altium shareholders, Australian court approval as well as regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Moreover, the Altium Board unanimously recommends that Altium shareholders vote in favor of the Scheme. They make this recommendation in the absence of a superior proposal. It is subject to the independent expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the Scheme is in the best interests of Altium shareholders. Subject to those same qualifications, each Altium director intends to vote, or cause to be voted, all Altium shares held or controlled by them in favour of the Scheme. Altium will continue to be led by CEO Aram Mirkazemi as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renesas.
