National Instruments has signed an approximately $58million merger agreement including $7million in cash towards the balance sheet to acquire AWR Corporation. In addition, the agreement entails an earn-out provision, which is payable over three years. AWR, an innovation leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software will continue to function under the present management as a wholly owned subsidiary of NI. AWR is the leading supplier of electronic design automation (EDA) software for designing RF and high-frequency components and systems for the semiconductor, aerospace and defence, communications and test equipment industries. This merger is of urgent value as the swift design cycles and increasingly complex RF and wireless systems require greater integration between design and test. NI aims to facilitate greater customer productivity through improved connectivity between design, validation and production test functions.
Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO and cofounder of National Instruments emphasised the importance of the merger. “AWR has an exceptional team with strong RF talent and technologies
that expand the NI platform into RF design, which is complementary to our capability to make measurements across the RF design flow.” He went onto add “We believe this combination will accelerate the deployment of RF and wireless technologies and offers a significant benefit to the customers of both companies.”
NI and AWR’s individual strengths when combined will facilitate customers to design and test their RF systems more productively. The merger will benefit both companies’ core software brands, NI LabVIEW and AWR Microwave Office and Visual System Simulator. Additionally the NI RF testing hardware platform will also benefit. The benefits will be passed down to customers as well. The combination of NI’s complete RF testing platform and AWR’s suite of design tools will enable customers to decrease the time to market of their RF designs. AWR software tools will augment NI’s current academic and university RF and communications initiatives. This will allow educators and students alike to benefit from a better teaching and learning experience for the rapid design and prototyping of RF systems. Dane Collins, CEO of AWR summed up the acquisition by saying “Together, we are better able to support and service our growing global installed base.”
