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Russ Henke
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Author: |
Russ Henke |
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3/2/2007 6:15 AM |
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Thoughts of interest to COFES and COFES attendees |
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The Big 3 EDA Vendors to remain the Big 3 – for now! |
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By Russ Henke on
8/16/2008 6:16 AM
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In the June 29, 2008 blog entry in this space, entitled, “Will the ‘Big 3’ EDA Vendors soon become the ‘Big 2’ ??”, we commented on the bid by Cadence to buy EDA rival Mentor Graphics. See http://cofes.com/Community/Blogs/tabid/272/EntryID/142/Default.aspx
Well, it looks like the ‘Big 3’ will be around, at least for awhile.
On August 15, 2008, Cadence finally grew tired of the effort and called off its $16 per share ($1.6 billion) bid to acquire Mentor.
Shareholders immediately expressed their opinions of this news. Shares of Cadence surged 7% during the August 15 trading session to close at $7.64 a share, while shares of Mentor tanked, falling 26% to close at $10.33.
From the June 29 blog entry, readers will recall that Mentor had immediately rebuffed Cadence’s original $16 a share offer. In any case, industry insiders say that since then, Cadence was having trouble obtaining reasonable funding t ...
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Interesting Trend – will the USA Follow? |
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By Russ Henke on
8/5/2008 7:34 AM
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One in five German manufacturers pulling production out of China:
On August 4, 2008, Germany's Der Spiegel reported that "China lost its status as the world's cheapest country for manufacturing some time ago." Now momentum is "shifting away from outsourcing to the Far East, with one in five Germany companies pulling production out of China."
Chinese workers, they say, are getting too expensive. Many German companies cite "fast-climbing labor costs and pesky production quality problems" as reasons they are either "searching for countries with lower wages [or] returning production to Germany."
Hans Röhm of the consulting firm Deloitte said that "the companies that are most likely to return to Germany are those that outsourced production out of cost considerations -- including the consumer goods industry and textiles, which both produce in mass quantities."
Howev ...
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Interstate 35-W Bridge Collapse -- One Year Later |
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By Russ Henke on
8/4/2008 4:59 AM
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On August 1, 2007, the entire span of the Minneapolis Interstate 35-W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed, with numerous fatalities and injuries, a disaster later reportedly traced to an original engineering design flaw in the gusset plates connecting the underpinning beams. (Over the months since, corrosion and rust have also been cited as possible culprits).
Back then, the 35-W collapse was discussed in several blog entries in this space.
The Missouri Department of Transportation recently released a report that raises further concerns:
- One out of every four bridges now in use in the United States is classified as “structurally deficient,” just as the I-35W bridge was classified before it failed. That’s about 152,000 bridges, and counting.
- Within the next 15 years almost half of the US bridges will exceed 50 years of age, beyond the life span for which they were des ...
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ANSYS plus ANSOFT Deal is Done ! |
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By Russ Henke on
8/2/2008 7:33 AM
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In the June 29, 2008 blog entry in this space, entitled, “Will the ‘Big 3’ EDA Vendors soon become the ‘Big 2’??”, it was parenthetically mentioned that MCAE vendor ANSYS was in the process of absorbing EDA vendor ANSOFT.
On July 8, we reported that ANSYS had received SEC clearance for the ANSOFT acquisition on June 23, 2008, and that a special meeting of the ANSOFT stockholders to approve the transaction had been set for July 23, 2008.
Well, the deal is done! On July 31, ANSYS announced that it had successfully completed the acquisition of ANSOFT in a series of mergers for approximately 12.2 million shares of ANSYS common stock, including 1.9 million shares pursuant to assumed stock options, and approximately $387 million in cash, plus expenses, using a combination of existing cash and proceeds from approximately $355 million of committed bank financing to fund the transaction.
Dr. Zoltan Cendes, founder and Chief Technolog ...
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ANSYS Added to Russell 1000 Index |
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By Russ Henke on
7/8/2008 9:07 AM
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In the June 29, 2008 blog entry in this space, entitled, “Will the ‘Big 3’ EDA Vendors soon become the ‘Big 2’??”, it was parenthetically mentioned that MCAE vendor ANSYS was in the process of absorbing EDA vendor ANSOFT.
ANSYS and ANSOFT had agreed that ANSYS would acquire ANSOFT for a purchase price of approximately $832 million in a mix of cash and ANSYS common stock based on the 10-day trailing average closing price of ANSYS common stock prior to the original announcement of the pending transaction on March 31, 2008.
ANSYS received SEC clearance for the ANSOFT acquisition on June 23, 2008. A special meeting of the ANSOFT stockholders to approve the transaction has been set for July 23, 2008.
Meanwhile, on July 8, 2008, ANSYS announced that it has been listed on this year's Russell 1000(R) stock index. ANSYS was one of six companies in the technology sector just added to the Russell large-cap index.< ...
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Will the ‘Big 3’ EDA Vendors soon become the ‘Big 2’ ?? |
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By Russ Henke on
6/29/2008 7:43 AM
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Mergers & Acquisitions are hardly rare in the world of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) or Computer Aided Design (CAD). Indeed, seldom does a quarter pass without one Electronic Design Automation (EDA) vendor buying another. The same is true in the Mechanical CAE and Mechanical CAD/PLM industries.
Indeed, being acquired by one of the top three vendors in EDA or in MCAD is a favorite exit strategy for small start-ups that develop a specialized or breakthrough technology. This exit path is especially attractive as the IPO market for venture-backed companies dries up.
While EDA companies usually buy smaller EDA companies, and MCAD companies likewise, it’s not unheard of for crossover to occur. For example, MCAE vendor ANSYS recently acquired EDA vendor ANSOFT.
More unusual, however, is for one of the leading EDA or MCAD vendor companies to acquire one of the other members of their respective oligopolies.
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Just in time for the 2008 Summer Solstice |
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By Russ Henke on
6/19/2008 5:12 PM
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The latest the AP-Ipsos survey results are just in, measured in mid-June. And guess what! More Americans than ever say the country is going in the wrong direction! Seventy six percent (76%) now say the country is definitely on the wrong track. That's up from 71% in April and 66% near the end of 2007.
Some 17% still (inexplicably) insist that the country is going in the right direction. That’s the lowest percentage of die-hards ever recorded by the survey.
The overall level of US pessimism is the worst in almost 30 years, worse than Bush 43’s first recession, worse than Bush 41’s recession, and worse than Reagan’s economic dips. Consumer confidence alone is now the lowest it’s been in 28 years. Most blame the current rising food and gas prices, falling home values and unending war. Imagine that! Asked about Bush 43’s handling of the US economy, 72% said they disapproved.
"Fo ...
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EEK !! – US Economic News keeps getting worse… |
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By Russ Henke on
6/8/2008 10:16 AM
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Friday June 06, 2008 marked the latest low point in the steadily sinking US economy of Bush 43’s second recession, with a one-day triple dose of bad news.
Ongoing unregulated speculation and still more Middle East tensions (e.g. an Israeli official threatened military action against Iran's nuclear installations) drove the price of a barrel of crude oil to a record level above $138, up 13% in just two days. On June 06 alone, crude-oil prices spiked $10.75, the largest one-day gain ever recorded.
Regular gas, now at a record $4.00 per gallon average across the country, will surely and quickly follow the oil spike (CA regular is already at $4.40 per gallon). Ordinary US citizens are not the only ones being squeezed. Truckers and airlines are also suffering. Indeed, any businesses that use raw materials made from oil, like tires, toiletries, paper towels, bath tissues, plastic packaging, paint, mobile phones, light bulbs, cus ...
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Bear Stearns disappearing into JP Morgan Chase |
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By Russ Henke on
6/1/2008 10:23 AM
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The most recent blog entry in this space dealt with Topic #4 from the following May 29 news list:
1. Scott McClellan’s new memoir about the Bush 43 White House
2. Bear Stearns disappearing into JP Morgan Chase
3. SPAM sales on the rise
4. Q1 GDP being revised up from 0.6% to 0.9%
Today we’ll tackle Topic #2.
On May 29, 2008, Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase announced that the stockholders of Bear Stearns, at a special May 29 meeting, approved the merger with JPMorgan Chase. Approximately 84% of shares voted in favor. The merger closed on May 30, 2008. Each outstanding share of Bear Stearns common stock was converted into 0.21753 shares of JPMorgan Chase common stock, and Bear Stearns became a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase. Also, the NY Federal Reserve Bank and JPMorgan Chase agreed that they will complete the previously-announc ...
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May 29 News |
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By Russ Henke on
5/29/2008 5:01 PM
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So many things to comment on today; too little time…
1. Scott McClellan’s new memoir about the Bush 43 White House
2. Bear Stearns disappearing into JP Morgan Chase
3. SPAM sales on the rise
4. Q1 GDP being revised up from 0.6% to 0.9%
5. …and many more
We’ll leave most of these to another time soon, although #3 is immediately tempting, mostly due to Monty Python and to the fact that dinner time is near.
No, today we’ll talk about #4.
I just have one question: Do you feel luckier, now that the Q1 GDP was actually 0.3% higher in Q1 2008? Well, do ya?
Not I !!.
The number of US jobs lost in Q1 2008 remains at 240,000. There were still 7.6 million US people unemployed at the end of Q1, up from 6.8 million unemployed only a year earlier, and est ...
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