Siemens acquires Altair Engineering for $10.6bn

January 2025 | DEALFRONT | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Financier Worldwide Magazine

January 2025 Issue

In a deal that strengthens its leadership in industrial software and artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare technology company Siemens AG is to acquire computational intelligence leader Altair Engineering for approximately $10.6bn.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Altair stockholders will receive $113 per share in cash, which represents a 19 percent premium to the closing price of Altair common stock on 21 October 2024, the last trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a 13 percent premium to Altair’s unaffected all-time high closing price.

The acquisition will be fully cash-financed from Siemens’ existing resources and its capacity to fully finance the transaction based on Siemens’ strong balance sheet. Upon completion of the transaction, Altair’s common stock will no longer be listed on any public stock exchange.

“This acquisition represents the culmination of nearly 40 years in which Altair has grown from a startup in Detroit to a world-class software and technology company,” said James Scapa, founder and chief executive of Altair. “We have added thousands of customers globally in manufacturing, life sciences, energy and financial services, and built an amazing workforce and innovative culture.

“We believe this combination of two strongly complementary leaders in the engineering software space brings together Altair’s broad portfolio in simulation, data science, and HPC with Siemens’ strong position in mechanical and electronic design automation,” he continued. “Siemens’ outstanding technology, strategic customer relationships, and honest, technical culture is an excellent fit for Altair to continue its journey driving innovation with computational intelligence.”

A global leader in computational intelligence that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing, data analytics and AI, Altair enables organisations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener, more sustainable future.

“The addition of Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high performance computing, data science and AI together with Siemens Xcelerator will create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio,” added Roland Busch, president and chief executive of Siemens AG. “It is a logical next step: we have been building our leadership in industrial software for the last 15 years, most recently, democratising the benefits of data and AI for entire industries.”

Focused on industry, infrastructure, mobility and healthcare, Siemens AG’s purpose is to empower customers to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformations, making factories more efficient, cities more liveable and transportation more sustainable. The company employs around 305,000 people worldwide.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Altair board of directors, is expected to close in the second half of 2025, following the receipt of regulatory approvals, Altair stockholder approval and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Serving as financial advisers to Altair are Citi and JP Morgan Securities LLC, with Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Lowenstein Sandler LLP serving as legal advisers.

“Acquiring Altair marks a significant milestone for Siemens,” concluded Mr Busch. “This strategic investment aligns with our commitment to accelerate the digital and sustainability transformations of our customers by combining the real and digital worlds.”

Fraser Tennant