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Autodesk Announces Intent to Acquire Electrical Computer-Aided Design ECSCAD Technology from Mensch und Maschine Group
Wednesday 20. August 2008 - Deal Would Expand Autodesk Electrical Computer-aided Design Choices for Controls Designers
Further enhancing its Digital Prototyping Solution for manufacturing, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a leader of design innovation software and technologies, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Mensch und Maschine Deutschland GmbH, a member of the Mensch und Maschine group, to acquire substantially all of the assets — including the ECSCAD product line — of Elektro-CAE-Software GmbH (ECS), a premier solution provider of electrical computer-aided design (CAD) software. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The agreement shows Autodesk’s commitment to creating the most comprehensive and versatile electrical CAD software offering in the market, and is expected to expand the reach of Autodesk electrical CAD solutions to industry segments in the European marketplace that rely on database-driven methods for their designs. The acquisition complements AutoCAD Electrical software, which is used to quickly create accurate schematic-based design. As both product lines are built on the AutoCAD platform, Autodesk will be positioned to enhance functionality and performance for both ECSCAD and AutoCAD Electrical customers, and create even more powerful tools for electrical controls design. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 of Autodesk’s fiscal year and is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
“Autodesk can better serve electrical controls designers in Europe by offering the best solution for even the largest-scale projects,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions senior vice president. “The addition of ECS technologies enhances the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping and helps a larger audience to create complete digital prototypes that integrate both mechanical and electrical designs.”
“Extending Autodesk electrical CAD capabilities with Elektro-CAE-Software solutions opens the door to new and enhanced workflows currently unavailable from either drawing-centric or database-driven electrical CAD software alone,” said Guenter Manz, Managing Director, Elektro-CAE-Software. “Together, ECS and Autodesk solutions will give controls designers the ability to choose the tools and methods that best fit their design requirements.”