Synopsys to buy SpringSoft

Taiwanese HDL-debug and mixed-signal design company SpringSoft has agreed to be bought by Synopsys. The deal looks set to strengthen still further Synopsys’ hold on the HDL-design part of chip implementation by bringing debug tools under its wing.

As SpringSoft is publicly traded in Taiwan, the local Synopsys subsidiary plans to put in place a tender offer to buy SpringSoft’s shares at a price of NT$57.00 ($1.90) per share. The cash offer values SpringSoft at approximately $406m.

Synopsys plans to use the acquisition to “help accelerate delivery of a unified, powerful system-on-chip (SoC) debug environment”. The company will also integrate the SpringSoft, Ciranova and Magma operations to deliver custom-IC implementation tools with greater levels of automation.