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Industry Summary Articles

Thursday, January 07, 2016

ESI Group: Acquisition of ITI GmbH, a Global Leader in the Realistic Simulation of Mechatronic and Multi-Domain Systems

Alain de Rouvray, ESI Group’s Chairman and CEO, says: “This operation will enable two leaders and two complementary types of model representation in virtual engineering to come together: ESI, which has unique expertise in multi-domain solutions for virtual physical prototypes of components and assemblies of industrial products in a detailed 3D-4D space, and ITI GmbH, a specialist in the fast and accurate system simulation in the 0D-1D space. These different representations necessarily interface to each other and are intimately complementary when designing an integrated, dynamic and complex product such as an automobile in motion. This acquisition allows ESI to expand upstream its positioning in the industrial product manufacturing value chain. The advantage becomes critical and disruptive when innovation changes the system component interaction, which is increasingly common. ESI Group’s collaborative virtual engineering platform will provide direct access to a product’s functional features and enable more efficient and faster decisions to be made at the system level. We are very confident in this unique and disruptive operation’s value-creating potential, driven by the substantial and effective commercial and technological synergies in the short term and immediately accretive. The operation fully supports the strategic growth and profitability objectives of ESI.”

ITI GmbH, whose commercial and technological success is based on its flagship product, SimulationX, enjoys a global reputation with a portfolio of 700 clients from every industrial sector in 27 countries. In 2014, ITI GmbH recorded sales of €5.4 million; more than 60% of it from outside Germany and up 25% on the previous year.

ITI GmbH’s technological platform, supporting the Modelica open-source language, stands out through its flexible, easy-to-use and open architecture. The comprehensive nature of its integrated library of realistic physical models also represents a major asset that has enabled ITI to establish itself as the indisputable reference in a variety of industrial fields where the intersection of physics disciplines (including mechanics, electronics, control) is increasingly advanced (e.g. electric or hybrid powertrain applications).

This acquisition thus provides an opportunity to significantly extend the field of application of ESI Group’s virtual engineering solution, which will henceforth be able to offer the combined real-time simulation of two fundamental, but separated stages in a product’s development cycle: concept development enabled by realistic modeling of 0D-1D systems and multi-domain virtual prototyping deployed in a 3D-4D immersive environment.

Andreas Uhlig , CEO of ITI GmbH, says: “Totally convinced of the highly-complementary nature of the simulation technology of ITI GmbH’s functional systems on the one hand and virtual engineering on the other, we are particularly enthusiastic about joining the teams at ESI Group. The incorporation of our two technologies within one offer will bring a new and disruptive value proposition that we believe will significantly accelerate the democratization of virtual engineering.”

This new value proposition, building on mature technologies, has substantial commercial potential given the geographical and sectoral complementarities of the client portfolios. The quality of ITI GmbH’s commercial base, including prominent players, such as Ford, Liebherr, Nikon, Siemens, and Total, in diverse industrial sectors, represents powerful leverage to accelerate the adoption of ESI Group’s virtual engineering platform.

Following this operation, ESI will have 96% of its partner’s capital and the possibility of acquiring the remainder within 3 years. The entire workforce will become an integral part of ESI’s global operations immediately. The acquisition is entirely financed through bank debt within the framework of the syndicated bank facility signed in November 2015. It is directly accretive and in line with the Group’s objectives to improve its profitability.

To view the original press release, please click here.

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