LONDON – EDA software leader Synopsys Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) has agreed to purchase IC debug and verification software company SpringSoft Inc. (Hsinchu, Taiwan) for $406 million, or approximately $305 million net of cash acquired.
The acquisition is expected to complement Synopsys' technology portfolio and help the company offer custom EDA tools for important customers.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals in Taiwan, and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in 1Q13. After the closing, SpringSoft will become part of Synopsys and SpringSoft stock will cease trading.
The deal is the third in sequence of acquisition initiated by Synopsys. In November 2011 the company announced a deal to acquire Magma Design Automation Inc. for about $500 million and last month Synopsys moved to pick up privately held Ciranova Inc.
Synopys said it plans to integrate the physical design technology and R&D teams from Springsoft, Ciranova and Magma and thereby offer a higher level of automation in custom implementation tools.
"Combining SpringSoft's team and platform with Synopsys' complementary technology will help Synopsys lead further innovations in debug to more rapidly address the growing verification challenge," said Chi-Foon Chan, president and co-CEO at Synopsys, in a statement. "Simultaneously, SpringSoft's innovative custom implementation solution and its strong presence in leading Asian, European and U.S. semiconductor companies will help accelerate Synopsys' delivery of automation and innovation to an area of IC design that has been stagnant in the past."
Related links and articles:
Synopsys buys EDA vendor Ciranova
Synopsys to buy Magma for $507 million
'Second coming' of Magma forced Synopsys to deal 
SpringSoft, Synopsys link up debug technologies