Japan chipmaker Renesas to buy software company Altium for A$9.1 billion

JAPANESE chipmaker Renesas Electronics said on Thursday (Feb 15) said it had agreed to buy Australian-listed electronics design company Altium for A$9.1 billion (S$8 billion) in an all-cash deal.

Renesas will pay A$68.50 per share, a 34 per cent premium to Altium’s closing price on Wednesday (Feb 14), with the purchase to be financed with bank loans and cash on hand.

Altium offers tools for designing circuit boards, with the deal intended to help Renesas streamline the process of electronics design for customers.

Headquartered in California and listed in Australia, Altium booked sales of US$263 million in the year ended June with an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin of 36.5 per cent.

The deal, which has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, will require approval from Altium shareholders, an Australian court and regulators, Renesas said.

Altium said its board recommended the deal in the absence of a superior offer and subject to an independent expert concluding it was in the best interests of shareholders.

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The acquisition is the latest by Renesas, which last month said it would buy California-based power semiconductor company Transphorm for US$339 million as it focuses on gallium nitride chips that are used in electric vehicles.

The chipmaker was created in 2010 through a merger of NEC’s chip division and Renesas Technology, which itself was established through a merger of the chip operations of Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric. REUTERS