On Thursday, Renesas Electronics of Japan announced its acquisition of Altium, an electronics design company specializing in tools for circuit board design. The cash transaction is valued at $5.9 billion. This strategic move positions Renesas as a key player in the Japanese chip industry’s dealmaking and investment landscape. The automotive chipmaker, known for its acquisitive nature, aims to enhance its offerings by providing digital device design services to its clientele through this acquisition.
Renesas said it would accelerate its software and digitalization strategy by acquiring Altium, allowing the company to offer customers design services that span hardware and software. The acquisition will also boost its presence in the fast-growing market for semiconductors used in Internet of Things devices, where it already has a strong position.
The acquisition will be financed using Renesas’ existing bank loans and cash reserves. It will close in the second half of 2024. Current CEO Aram Mirkazemi will lead Altium as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Renesas.
For Renesas, the move will strengthen its position as a leading IDM, or integrated device manufacturer, which develops and manufactures its semiconductors to sell directly to customers. IDMs have advantages over independent chipmakers, such as lower risk, control over manufacturing, superior process geometries, and boosted performance.
In addition, the acquisition will allow Renesas to offer customers a single-source supply of chips and software. Customers must research and evaluate multiple vendors’ devices, write their application code, purchase and test evaluation boards, and establish compatibility among components before moving on to the prototype stage. Renesas’ Winning Combinations service eliminates the need to do this work by providing vetted solutions tested and validated by experts, along with all the tools needed for design and development.
The company will also use its deep semiconductor experience to provide end-to-end design services for complex systems such as electric vehicles, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and data centers. Renesas will also expand its offerings of embedded computing products, including microcontrollers and microprocessors, to address the growing market for connected devices in all areas of society.
Renesas has already streamlined its structure by creating four product groups focused on developing solutions to drive its future success. These leadership teams now report directly to the CEO to strengthen accountability and enable quicker decision-making and innovation.
Renesas has also created a new Engineering organization to solidify the company’s engineering foundation, from product development to test engineering. Takeshi Kataoka, Senior Vice President and Co-General Manager of High-Performance Computing, Analog, and Power Solutions Group, will oversee the new Engineering organization. The company also has improved its support for customers with the release of Reality AI Tools, which is now tightly integrated with Renesas compute products.
