"Yesterday evening, Siemens announced a $ 4.5 billion cash acquisition of the third largest EDA vendors Mentor Graphics. Acquisition will be completed in accordance with the price of 37.25 US dollars per share, totaling $ 4.5 billion, compared to this company's semiconductor design tool Friday's closing price (30.68 dollars), the trading price of 21% of the overflow. and after the acquisition announcement, Mentor Graphics rise in today's opening price to $ 36.45, up 18.8% compared with Friday's closing price.
According to reports, the acquisition of Mentor, will strengthen Siemens' strengths in hardware and software design, simulation and testing of the field of electronic systems.
According to official news reports, purchased Siemens tool comprising a printed circuit board designed for use Board Station®, Expedition ™, XtremePCB ™, ICX® and DMS ™; Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit and a design with ModelSim®, Precision® Synthesis, Catapult ™ C and HDLDesigner Series ™; Seamless® using tools such as system design.
Siemens Mentor Users Group (SMUG) spokesman and chief Johann Pöschl Vienna Siemens CAE manager, said: "We chose Mentor Graphics as a global provider of design solutions, because they have covered the most extensive market-leading products in the field of design it is critical for us. Mentor's leading technologies will enable us to more quickly and more cost-effective way to provide the latest products. "
Don Maulsby, senior vice president of Mentor in charge of global trade, said: "Mentor Graphics is very pleased to cooperate with Siemens on a global scale this new agreement enhance our ability to provide design solutions to Siemens' business critical applications. Mentor able to make faster Siemens rapidly changing design tool needs to respond. "
Georg Pilartz vice president of global sourcing company Siemens in Munich, said: "For both of us, either Siemens or Mentor, through a multi-year agreement Siemens will be a number of business organizations across the world to cover them is a win-win situation. "
Mentor sale of internal problems, gradually outstripped rival
To dwell on this matter, we first talk about EDA, namely the origin of electronic design automation (Electronic Design Automation) is.
Before EDA appear, we are all hand-drawn map, so give engineers brought a lot of tedious work, to the 80s of last century, computers began to enter a lot of research institute, was found by computer-aided design can be, this exposes opportunities, so many companies entered the industry.
With the development of IC industry, EDA vendors are not focusing on wiring and other work, and then his eyes set on digital design, derived from the VHDL hardware description language, then EDA developed into three major sections, including the high-level design related parts, verification / synthesis / layout related parts, and the underlying bias SPICE simulation and so on.
As the IC industry chain has been the most lucrative in the industry, it has attracted a large number of smart people into this area, and finally after decades of vertical and horizontal, and finally the rest of Synopsys, Cadence and MentorGraphics three dominant status quo. Which each have their own advantages.
The protagonist of this transaction is regarded as Mentor Graphics in three "older" largest, was established in 1981 Mentor in fiscal year 2015 revenue of $ 1.18 billion, after years of development, Mentor DFT in Calibre signoff and accumulate a lot of advantage. In addition to EDA tools, but also have very much power automotive electronics vendors, including embedded software, etc. (I believe this is an important reason to attract Siemens).
Mentor's strategy is to continue to strengthen independent research and development that is the main industry in EDA tools, each year 30% of sales revenue as research funding. In EDA tools, hardware emulators to maintain high growth rate at a rate of 24%.
From stand 1986 with Synopsys Hspice started in digital front-end, back-end digital and PT signoff aspect is to have a very strong advantage, Synopsys flagship digital design platform has never given up efforts to attack simulation platform. Now they XA analog front end, digital front-end VCS, DC and the ICC would not have said, the rear end of the sign-off tool is very powerful, Star-RC / PT / PT-SI, formality, etc., while in the IP aspects, Synopsys also done fast. Reuters staff said, S family has a monopoly market monopoly and 90% to 50% of TCAD process simulation products (So that's what competitive advantage it?). 1988 stand from Cadence, Virtuoso product almost sit tight against the dominance in analog design platform, analog or custom circuit design and layout features mixed-signal power; PCB related tools is also good; after years of effort, relying Innovus and other tools have begun to conquer new territories in the digital domain.
According to sources within the line, Mentor this sale because of internal main business is a little powerless, reason, as more and more advanced semiconductor processes, the entire design process more complex, once at some point tool slightly insufficient, there will be a short board, the lack of complete Flow Solution law enforcement. For example, on the back-end tools for digital, ICC2 Innovus S and C family home you Changba me play, and M family of Olympus little news.
Profits have been good, we are doing well, relying on selling software tools and a signed authorization for three years, these companies can live very moist. But over the years because of fierce competition, we are moving in large and comprehensive development, can not wait to offer "family bucket" for each customer design manufacturers, but also make great efforts to research and development, clenched mainstream Foundry's advanced process nodes, investment Meng increase. Plus fabless recession itself, the frequent occurrence of mergers and acquisitions on their profits and prospects had a major impact.
Also in these competitions, it was left behind began.
S and C at home all the time go hand in hand at home, only to follow the Mentor EDA on the most advanced process nodes advanced road a slower beat.
Of course, it is undeniable that Mentor in DFM, PCB, Emulation has done is very good, the user is also very emotional for these tools.
Mentor sale of foreign aggression, aggressive investors spoiler
In fact, in recent years, we continue to spread the message Mentor sold to a rumor among the most intense in 2011 that activist investor Carl Icahn (Carl Icahn) announced a bid of about $ 1.86 billion in cash in 2011, competing buy software company Mentor Graphics. Icahn move is intended to attract other potential bidders to participate in bidding.
According to public media, Carl Icahn as a rich man with $ 11 billion worth of Wall Street executives dreaded dangerous, almost every American a hostile takeover are important in connection therewith. His best-known and most skillful means of attack is the "corporate raid", that is a lot of buying shares in a listed company to become a strategic shareholder, through the exercise of shareholders' equity to force the company to make various adjustments, to reap rich profits for themselves, but also to the general shareholders bring real benefits.
For once communications giant Motorola and the old Internet giant Yahoo, Icahn is the letter of the victims.
It can be said, it is the incoming Icahn, Motorola's accelerated death.
In 2007, Icahn bought 3350 shares of Motorola stock, but failed to do so to obtain board seats. The following year, Icahn sued Motorola, asking for four board seats, and require the company to spin off its mobile business. In continue to promote Icahn's Motorola spin-off final in early 2011 to Motorola mobile) and Motorola Solutions two independent companies, bid farewell to a very glorious history.
In 2008, Yahoo founder and CEO Jerry Yang rejected Microsoft's offer of $ 44.6 billion, stricken strong dissatisfaction of many small shareholders. Icahn immediately smell opportunity from which acquired 50 million shares of Yahoo stock, plans to initiate a proxy fight, required to replace Jerry Yang and Yahoo's entire board of directors, in an attempt to promote the re-sale of Yahoo deal. After negotiations with Yahoo's board of directors, he eventually won three board seats, and successfully promote Jerry Yang had to step down.
Back to the acquisition of Mentor event was 75-year-old Icahn this month in an interview with US financial media CNBC interview revealed that intends to buy the electronic product designed to help engineers solve the problem of chip design software company. Since 2008, Mentor revenue has declined for two consecutive years, the company's net loss at the same time.
Icahn was in a letter to the Board of Directors of Mentor wrote, "we believe we will be a potential strategic buyers, higher than the purchase price of $ 17 per share to Mentor."
But this plan was subjected to a severe boycott Mentor aspects, and finally nothing.
But in September of that year, Icahn launched a proxy battle and a Mentor, who collected the Mentor 76% of the agency, was a huge success! In this overwhelming victory as it is unusual. In his view, if not sold Mentor, also firmly believe that it should be able to cut costs. Because he felt the company's SG & A (sales, general and administrative expenses) of $ 500 million, for an income of $ 900 million company, it is too high.
Now Mentor fell into the activist investor's Office, the hedge fund Elliott Management now owns 8.1% stake in Mentor Graphics, they believe that the company's share price significantly undervalued, so would facilitate acquisitions will maximize the benefits.
After the transaction, Siemens can get to what?
According to foreign media reports, the deal will allow Siemens to enhance the competitiveness of the software industry, and it is possible to obtain first-mover advantage in the process of technological change in manufacturing.
Established in Germany, Siemens is a global pioneer in the motor and electronics, active in the energy, medical, industrial and infrastructure construction and urban four business areas. In addition, Siemens is the first 63 rankings of the world's largest 500 companies ranked in the 2015 US "Fortune" magazine. Siemens was founded by Werner von Siemens in 1847, is headquartered in Munich, Germany.
Siemens now offers a wide selection of electronic, electrical products and solutions. In recent years, branched out into the field is even more diverse, can be divided into: Siemens Building Technologies; Siemens drives, industrial automation-related products; Siemens energy-related products; Siemens Medical care related products; Siemens intelligent transportation related products and information and communication (Siemens communications, Siemens IT solutions and services) has a wide range of aspects of the product line.
Sources statement pointed out that Siemens hope that with this acquisition, depending on the accumulation of Mentor IC and system design, simulation and manufacturing, the expansion of Siemens in the car's software product line. In the current rapid development of car networking market, Siemens can enhance the influence and competitiveness.
From Reuters reports we learn that this acquisition Siemens will get a wide range of tools, machinery, thermodynamics, embedded software, to accelerate their ability to innovate in the future.
Back to the automotive sector, Mentor chairman and CEO in 2009, once said that the automotive industry needs to System Tools, rather than automotive IC market, IC design tools. Rhines same time convinced that the automobile industry in the EDA field is expected to reach the $ 1 billion per year.
Rhines said that: "it is necessary to go beyond traditional applications and set his sights on increasing the electronic components of electronic systems applications."
He said Mentor occupied the commanding heights in the market opportunities provided by the automobile industry, as the car increases more and more sensors and microcontrollers, which forced the bus, reliability and safety requirements are more complex. At the same time, he pointed out that the auto industry is usually treated in a manner similar system to verify the semiconductor industry 30 years ago, the practice --- build, test, and if does not work, re-design. Automotive electronics opportunities for EDA vendors, and Mentor in which there are a wide range of layout.
Moore core Wen also said users Xi day, Mentor has long been in Vehicle Design System development effort. Today, electric cars, hybrid cars have become the focus of development, and even automobile manufacturing country to phase out diesel locomotives in Germany say, the development of electric vehicles. As the industrial giant Siemens technology, time and effort to make up their own province with the acquisition.
This is exactly the Siemens take aim.
According to reports, now a high-end European and American manufacturing computer-aided design software, has returned to three brands: CATIA, Unigraphics, and PTC. Among Unigraphic company UGS Group was Siemens for $ 3.5 billion acquisition in 2007, set foot in the software, and later acquired its own PLM (Product Life Management) integrated into this software, and expand the user, improve their software It influences.
January 2016, Siemens has the computational fluid dynamics software CD Adapco bought for $ 1 billion. In this way, Siemens PLM Software swept the design, analytics, manufacturing, data management, robotic automation, inspection, reverse engineering.
Germany and Siemens are advocating Industry 4.0, Siemens as a platform provider, also is working to provide 4.0 influential industry, also hopes to focus in the car to provide unified solution that Mentor-related technologies into its manufacturing and automotive-related programs, the It provides one-stop solution that will maximize profits.
Siemens also said that now they have enough software to help its customers develop similar cars, planes and trains this kind of complex electronic machinery. Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas is also a conference call on Monday pointed out, now that their customers have already turned to the development of autonomous vehicles similar to these complex and intelligent products can be connected, this single transaction also is to meet the demand of customers and birth.
Meanwhile, some industry insiders have speculated that this single acquisition of Siemens fancy car-related business, and car reservations department fusion system, and will seek opportunities to sell the second time DFM-related products sector.
China EDA industry can play off it?
In the above we said, Siemens may DFM will sell the business, the specific Siemens itself is not willing because pure EDA company, retained DFM product line (Calibre DRC / LVS, etc.) may have conflicts of interest with clients, while he retained this business is worthwhile, therefore Siemens may choose to split this good performance out of business, a better price. ThisGive China a lot of imagination space.
Assuming that domestic EDA manufacturers can bid for this part of the business nine days, there is a great help to improve the coverage and influence of its products. But this is not easy, it seems like Germany to return to China Fujian Hongye Fund to acquire the passes issued by German semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and restart the corresponding evaluation procedure. This is a major obstacle to the supplement of Chinese companies.
In addition, S home and c are believed to join the battle.
Synopsys In order to enhance themselves to be pressed, they will not sit in order to maintain their leading advantages.
Suppose the part of the business of DFM is really stripped, and will finally spend? Then look at the layout of capital, market and policies.
Search "" Love Board "", pay attention, daily update development board, intelligent hardware, open source hardware, activity and other information can make you fully master. Recommended attention!
[WeChat scanning picture can be directly paid]
Related reading:
These smart hardware is simply awkward! "
Our other product:
