BRUSSELS – Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS), the chip design software company, has offered to sell an Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) unit on top of one of its own in a bid to win EU approval for its $35 billion acquisition of the chip design software company, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The European Commission, which acts as the European Union’s competition watchdog, is now seeking feedback from rivals and customers on Synopsys’ proposal, with a December 16 response deadline, the people said.
Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS) has said it would sell its optical design tool maker Optical Solutions Group to design and emulation company Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), subject to the Ansys deal.
It has now also offered to divest Ansys PowerArtist, including its research, development, distribution, licensing, selling, and marketing. PowerArtist is a tool used to analyze and reduce power to enable power-efficient design.
Synopsys said it proposed steps to advance regulatory approvals.
“Customers remain overwhelmingly supportive of this pro-competitive deal, and we continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2025,” a spokesperson said.
Synopsys did not offer any behavioral remedies related to its business practices, the people said, which would suggest the EU antitrust enforcer does not have any concerns about interoperability and product bundling following feedback from industry players last month.
Ansys’ software can create products ranging from airplanes to tennis rackets for players such as Novak Djokovic.
The Commission is scheduled to decide on the deal, the biggest in the technology sector since Broadcom’s (NASDAQ: AVGO) $69 billion purchase of software maker VMware a year ago, by January 10.
