Synopsys' $35 bln Ansys acquisition to be approved in EU, sources say
23/12/2024 15:40
(Adds the European Commission and Synopsys declining to
comment, in paragraphs 5-6)
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. chip design software
company Synopsys SNPS.O is set to win conditional EU antitrust
approval for its $35 billion buy of Ansys ANSS.O , people with
direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.
The biggest technology sector deal since Broadcom's $69
billion purchase of software maker VMware a year ago, it also
marks the first Big Tech merger under new EU antitrust chief
Teresa Ribera.
To address EU competition concerns, Synopsys this month
offered to sell its optical design tool maker Optical Solutions
Group as well as Ansys PowerArtist, other sources have told
Reuters.
The company is expected to offer the same remedies to the UK
competition watchdog after it voiced concerns about the impact
of the deal on innovation and prices last week, the people said.
The European Commission, which acts as the antitrust
enforcer in the 27-country European Union, is scheduled to end
its preliminary review of the deal on Jan. 10. It declined to
comment.
Synopsys also declined to comment and reiterated its
statement to the UK Competition and Markets Authority last week
where it pointed to its proposal to sell its Optical Solutions
business.
Companies are looking to Ribera, who took up her post this
month, to see if she will continue her predecessor Margrethe
Vestager's tough line on Big Tech deals.
Ansys' software is used in creating products ranging from
airplanes to tennis rackets for players such as Novak Djokovic.
Ansys PowerArtist is a tool used to analyse and reduce power
use to enable power-efficient design.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Alison Williams and
Jason Neely)
((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 585 2866; Reuters
Messaging: foo.yunchee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))