Renesas, a Japanese chipmaker, is set to acquire software company Altium for $5.9 billion.

• Renesas Electronics, a semiconductor firm from Japan, announced it will acquire Altium, an Australian software company, in a deal worth $9.1 billion Australian dollars ($5.91 billion).
• Altium's closing price on Wednesday was AU$51.26, and Renesas announced it would pay AU$68.50 per share, which is a 33.6% premium.

The Japanese semiconductor firm announced on Thursday that it would acquire the Sydney-listed software company for 9.1 billion Australian dollars ($5.89 billion) in cash, in order to simplify its electronics design process.

Altium's closing price on Wednesday was AU$51.26, and Renesas announced it would pay AU$68.50 per share, which is a 33.6% premium.

Nearly 30% of Australia-listed Altium shares increased to AU$66, while Tokyo-listed Renesas experienced a 3.2% decline.

Altium's main business is designing chip circuit boards, and the Japanese chipmaker, which would finance the deal with bank loans and cash on hand, said the acquisition would enable it to better manage electronics design for customers.

Japanese firms possess a significant amount of idle capital and are determined to regain global leadership and dominance in the chip-making industry, according to Jesper Koll, expert director at Monex Group, as stated on CNBC.

According to Koll, corporations in Japan have a combined total of almost $5 trillion in cash reserves and zero-interest rate funding from the government, which enables them to fund acquisitions and develop a comprehensive chips ecosystem.

According to Koll, by 2028-2030, Japan Inc will have a one-third share of the global chip-making ecosystem, which is double its current ownership.

The deal has been approved by both companies' boards, but its completion is contingent on approvals from Altium shareholders, the Australian court, and regulators, according to Renesas.

As a partner with Renesas for nearly two years, Altium is thrilled to be part of the Renesas team as we continue to achieve success and growth together, stated Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium.

Renesas' acquisition of Transphorm, worth $339 million, will provide the company with in-house gallium nitride chips used in electric vehicles a month after the deal was agreed upon.