Euro 1.1 billion mega deal: Cadence acquired BETA Systems – 2024-03-10 18:57:27

A major business deal worth 1.15 billion euros ($1.24 billion) in the technology sector with a company with Greek roots has been announced from California.

The reason for BETA CAE Systems International AG, which was founded 30 years ago by a group of professors and students of AUTH and currently employs 500 workers.

The Swiss-based company with an R&D center in Kato Scholari Thessaloniki develops simulation and analysis software for the automotive and jet engine industries. Although low profile it is one of the world’s leading companies in the sector with companies in 10 countries (Switzerland, USA, UK, India, Sweden, Italy, China, Germany, USA and Japan)

California-based and Nasdaq-listed Cadence Design Systems has announced an agreement to acquire BETA CAE. The American company develops software used to design chips in computers. It has a turnover of more than 3.5 billion dollars, 10,300 employees and is deployed in 23 countries.

The deal

According to Reuters, Cadence will make available to the owners of BETA CAE about $744 million in cash and the rest in shares.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024, and BETA CAE is expected to contribute approximately $40 million to the US company’s revenue in 2024.

The protagonists

“Cadence entered the multiphysics space several years ago through organic innovation and acquisitions. This strategic acquisition reaffirms our commitment to continued growth in this critical area,” said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence.

He continued, “Combining our computer software expertise with BETA CAE’s rich technology and talent will enable us to offer a more comprehensive portfolio to clients, while opening significant new opportunities for Cadence, leveraging the structural analysis domain. These solutions are particularly important in the automotive industry, where the convergence of electrical and mechanical designs is further driven by an increasing shift to electric vehicles, requiring deeper design team collaboration across integrated workflows.”

On the right, the Co-Founder and President of BETA Systems, Mr. Panagiotis Kouvrakis in 2019 during the awarding of the “GREEK VALUE” awards of the SBETH. On the left, the then CEO of the Athens Stock Exchange, Mr. Sokratis Lazaridis.

For his part, the president and one of the founders of BETA CAE, Mr. Panagiotis Kouvrakis, pointed out: “For more than two decades we have been leading the evolution of engineering simulation, first with our establishment in the terrestrial sector and then in the fields aerospace, electronics, energy and other industries. We are very excited to be joining the Cadence team and are confident that we will succeed through our shared values ​​and passion for innovation and engineering, as well as our unwavering commitment to our customers and partners.”

The innovation of BETA Systems

BETA CAE has a very strong footprint in the automotive sector, providing solutions to the world’s top 10 car manufacturers and most Formula 1 racing teams, as well as leading aerospace, industrial and healthcare customers. BETA CAE’s clients include such names as Honda Motor Company Ltd., General MotorsCompany, Stellantis, Renault Group, Volvo Cars and Lockheed Martin Corporation, among others.

Cadence’s software for chips

Cadence is one of the largest makers of software used in computer chip design, helping chipmakers decide where to place billions of transistors to form complex circuits.

But in the past six years it has opened up to design software for larger systems, from circuit boards to airplanes. Last month, the company announced a supercomputer designed to help simulate how air flows around jet engines, among other uses.

The transfer of the headquarters and the visit of Mitsotakis

BETA CAE was established as a company in 1999. Until then, its people went through 40 waves until they achieved their first cooperations with companies – clients in foreign markets.

In 2017, the company moved its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland, at a particularly difficult time for the Greek economy. Capital controls and the country’s loss of confidence in the markets led Mr. Kouvrakis and the other members of the team to move the headquarters.

In 2020, Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited BETA’s R&D center in Thessaloniki.

From Kato Scholari, the prime minister sought to send the message of the government’s support for research and innovation.

Be that as it may, the Greek company continues to build its success story by following in the footsteps of a multinational looking for opportunities for its growth.