Cadence announced the completion of its acquisition of Hexagon AB’s Design and Engineering (D&E) business.The transaction, previously announced, expands Cadence’s System Design and Analysis (SDA) portfolio. It positions the company in the Physical AI area through integration of complementary technologies for physical system design and AI-driven analysis.
The acquisition combines Cadence’s multiphysics portfolio with Hexagon D&E’s capabilities in structural analysis, acoustics, and multibody dynamics. Hexagon D&E’s MSC Software solutions, including MSC Nastran and Adams, integrate with Cadence’s offerings in electronics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and BETA CAE’s structural pre- and post-processing technologies. This creates an end-to-end multiphysics simulation platform for integrated design and analysis.
The combined portfolio supports coupling of high-fidelity physics-based simulation with AI-driven design exploration. It enables virtual representations of real-world systems to predict behavior under complex conditions, covering motion, vibration, structural response, and fluid-structure interactions. This generates data for training and validating AI models in areas such as intelligent vehicles and industrial systems.
The purchase price is approximately €2.7 billion, including an estimated €150 million in transaction-related taxes owed by the acquired entities. The structure is 70% in cash and 30% in Cadence common stock.
Cadence expects the acquired business to add $160 million to its 2026 revenue. On a non-GAAP basis, the transaction is expected to be dilutive by approximately 28 cents to 2026 earnings per share and accretive in 2027.
Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence, stated: “This acquisition marks a major milestone in advancing our vision for intelligent system design. By combining our industry-leading computational software and AI-driven design expertise with MSC Software’s world-class structural and physics-based analysis technologies, we’re empowering customers to push the boundaries of what’s possible—from autonomous systems and advanced robotics to the future of transportation.”
