Gigantic US AI Company Acquired by European Firm Transaction Worth 10 Billion Dollars
Siemens has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Altair Engineering Inc. The company is a global powerhouse in computational science and artificial intelligence. With this acquisition, Siemens strengthens its position as a leading technology company and a leader in industrial software.
An agreement has been announced between Altair Engineering Inc. and Siemens AG. Altair shareholders will receive 113 dollars per share, which corresponds to an enterprise value of approximately 10 billion dollars. The transaction will significantly (by approx. 8%) increase Siemens' digital business revenues, adding around 600 million EUR to the 7.3 billion EUR in revenue from this segment recorded in fiscal year 2023.
Altair Engineering is a corporation specializing in providing software and cloud solutions in simulation and analysis, Big Data, AI, and high-performance computing, enabling organizations across all industries to compete more effectively. Altair Engineering Inc. has been operating since 1985 and debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2017. It currently employs around 3,500 people.
On October 30, 2024, an agreement was announced between Altair Engineering Inc. and Siemens AG, under which Altair shareholders will receive 113 dollars per share, corresponding to an enterprise value of approximately 10 billion dollars. The offer price represents a 19% premium over Altair’s closing share price on October 21, 2024 – the last trading day before media reports emerged about a possible transaction.
“This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Siemens. It is a strategic investment that confirms our commitment to accelerating the digital and sustainable transformation of our customers by combining the physical and digital worlds. Adding Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high-performance computing, data science, and artificial intelligence to Siemens Xcelerator will create the world’s most comprehensive AI-powered design and simulation portfolio” – said Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG.
Altair’s broad simulation portfolio and its extensive experience in electromechanics will be used to expand Siemens’ existing solutions. In the case of the Digital Twin and Siemens Xcelerator, it will provide even more accurate physics-based simulation. For users of these platforms, advanced analytical and simulation tools supported by AI will further shorten the time needed to bring new products to market and create additional design iterations. The analyses will also provide broader insights into both production processes and, for example, the product lifecycle.
Acquisition as an Opportunity for Synergy
The transaction will significantly (by approx. 8%) increase Siemens' digital business revenues, adding around 600 million EUR to the 7.3 billion EUR in revenue from this segment recorded in fiscal year 2023. Siemens expects to achieve significant revenue synergies, especially through cross-selling of complementary service portfolios and full access for Altair to Siemens’ global customer base. Additionally, Siemens aims to achieve cost synergies in the short term, with an impact on EBITDA exceeding 150 million USD annually by the second year after closing. The acquisition will be fully financed from Siemens’ existing resources. The transaction closing is subject to customary conditions and is expected in the second half of 2025.
“This is the logical next step: for the past 15 years, we have been building our leadership position in industrial software, and recently we have been democratizing the benefits of data and artificial intelligence across many industries. The acquisition of Altair is highly synergistic, supporting Siemens’ rigorous capital allocation, balancing investments and returns for shareholders based on a strong balance sheet. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings per share two years after closing,” – said Ralf P. Thomas, CFO of Siemens AG.
As a leading technology company, we collaborate with other enterprises, industries, and innovators to connect the physical world with the digital one.Find out more