German engineering company Siemens AG announced Monday it will acquire U.S.-based Mentor Graphics Corp. for $4.5 billion.
Mentor, based in Wilsonville, Ore., sells computer hardware and software to design electronics for the semiconductor, automotive and transportation industries, and has 5,700 employees in 32 countries. Siemens said in a statement Monday that Mentor’s proficiencies fit into its “Vision 2020” goals by providing industrial software.
Siemens will acquire Mentor for $37.25 per share, an offer which is 21 percent aboveMentor stock’s closing price on Friday.
“Siemens is acquiring Mentor as part of its Vision 2020 concept to be the benchmark for the new industrial age. It’s a perfect portfolio fit to further expand our digital leadership and set the pace in the industry,” Siemens CEO Joe Kaesar said.
Added Klaus Helmrich, Siemens board member, “With Mentor, we’re acquiring an established technology leader with a talented employee base that will allow us to supplement our world-class industrial software portfolio. It will complement our strong offering in mechanics and software with design, test and simulation of electrical and electronic systems.”
Under Kaesar, Siemens has acquired companies making software applications use to run the automated industrial equipment it manufactures, the company’s principal source of revenue. It also seeks to divest itself of some departments; it announced last week it hopes to sell its healthcare subsidiary, which is among the world’s largest makers of diagnostics and imaging equipment.