Thursday 3 October 2013

Autodesk aquires Structural Detailing and Fabrication Software from Graitec


SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) has signed a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Graitec to acquire certain technology assets, including Graitec’s Advance Steel and Advance Concrete product lines, and associated employees. The acquisition will enhance Autodesk’s current offerings for structural engineering and expand its portfolio of technology for Building Information Modeling (BIM) for structural fabrication and detailing. Through the proposed acquisition, Autodesk will continue to lead the industry’s migration to BIM and evolution of model-based workflows for structural engineers, detailers, fabricators and contractors who provide modeling, analysis, detailing, and production services. The transaction is expected to close in the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2014 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
   
“Autodesk continues to extend Building Information Modeling across the building lifecycle. The proposed acquisition of the Graitec technology will provide our customers with a more seamless structural engineering workflow, from design to fabrication and to construction, with enhanced offerings for structural steel and concrete detailing,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president of Information Modeling and Platform Products. “We look forward to welcoming Graitec employees, customers and partners to the Autodesk community.”

Graitec is a global provider of CAD and engineering software for structural engineering, civil engineering and building construction headquartered in France. Graitec’s Advance Steel and Advance Concrete products offer modeling, detailing, and fabrication solutions to support BIM-based steel and reinforced concrete workflows. Graitec will to continue to sell and support Advance Steel and Advance Concrete, as well as sell, support, and develop its remaining products for structural engineering.

"Autodesk's acquisition of the Advance Steel and Advance Concrete products in support of its BIM strategy is a testament to the expertise of the Graitec team and the quality of our steel and concrete detailing solutions," said Francis Guillemard, CEO, Graitec. "Graitec continues to develop dedicated BIM software and services that are complementary to Autodesk, and together we look forward to maximizing the efficiency and performance of the global construction industry."

Business Outlook
This transaction is expected to have no impact on guidance issued today, October 2, 2013.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the impact of the acquisition and acquired technologies on Autodesk's product and services offerings, the impact of the acquisition on end-user functionality and workflow integration, and Autodesk’s acceleration of the adoption of BIM in structural engineering. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: Autodesk’s ability to timely close the acquisition of Graitec and integrate Graitec technologies and employees; costs related to the proposed acquisition; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to the acquisition; our success developing new products or modifying existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; failure to successfully manage transitions to new business models and markets, including the introduction of additional ratable revenue streams and our continuing efforts to attract customers to our cloud-based offerings; difficulty in predicting revenue from new businesses and the potential impact on our financial results from changes in our business models; general market and business conditions; the timing and degree of expected investments in growth opportunities; pricing pressure; failure to achieve continued cost reductions and productivity increases; changes in the timing of product releases and retirements; failure of key new applications to achieve anticipated levels of customer acceptance; failure to achieve continued success in technology advancements; interruptions or terminations in the business of our consultants or third party developers; the expense and impact of legal or regulatory proceedings; and unanticipated impact of accounting for acquisition.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2013, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2013, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Autodesk does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.