The Executive Vice President of Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, has started her mandate strongly. The Spanish company has just imposed conditions on one of the largest operations in the US technology sector in recent years: the purchase of chip designer Ansys by Synopsys, valued at 32 billion euros.
US-based Synopsys offers electronic design automation (EDA) software, services and hardware used for semiconductor devices such as chips. Additionally, it offers intellectual property solutions for semiconductors.
Ansys, also American, focuses on multiphysics simulation and analysis software and services to simulate and analyze the behavior of a product, process and/or system through digital models. Some of these tools are EDA tools, used exclusively by chip designers in their workflows.
The Commission investigated the impact of the transaction on global markets for the supply of: optics software; photonics software; and design automation software tools for chips, in which the activities of both companies overlapped.
Brussels assessed the ability and potential incentives of the merged entity to offer bundles or hinder the interoperability of: different EDA software tools and semiconductor intellectual property solutions for system-on-chip designs, of which Synopsys is a leading provider.
The Commission’s investigation revealed that, although the companies’ activities are largely complementary, the operation would have reduced competition in global markets for the supply of: optics software that simulates how light behaves in large macroscale systems (e.g. display or car headlight); photonic software that simulates how light behaves in smaller nanoscale optical systems (e.g., digital camera or solar panel); and in the register transfer level power consumption analysis software, which is a design tool used in the initial phase of the chip creation process to check its power consumption.
The Commission found that the transaction would have led to high combined market shares as well as high levels of concentration and found that, following the merger, there would not be enough competitors to exert sufficient pressure leading to higher prices and fewer opportunities for choice for customers.
To resolve competition concerns, the parties offered to cede to a suitable buyer all overlap in terms of the merging parties’ respective activities in the markets where the Commission identified significant competition concerns: Optics and Photonics Software from Synopsys, including Code V, LightTools, LucidShape, RSoft and ImSym, and Ansys’ PowerArtist log transfer-level power consumption analysis software.
The Commission will approve a suitable buyer for these activities in a separate procedure and from there Synopsys will be able to carry out the acquisition of Ansys.
The decision is conditional on full compliance with the commitments. Under the supervision of the Commission, an independent administrator will monitor its implementation.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President of Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, has assured about this decision that “In a world in which complex chips require more and more energy, innovative software tools, such as those offered by both Synopsys and Ansys, They help chip designers build chips using less energy to benefit customers and the environment. We were concerned that this acquisition could have significantly harmed competition in certain global chip design software or other markets. products. However, thanks to the clear structural solutions offered by the parties, competition in these markets will be preserved and customers will continue to have access to innovative tools at competitive prices.”
#Ribera #puts #pressure #imposes #conditions #merger #largest #chip #designers
