In a move to expand its industrial software portfolio, Siemens announced Jan. 25 that it will acquire UGS Corp., a provider of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software and services. The purchase price is $3.5 billion.
Siemens Automation and Drives Group (A&D) will be the unit that takes over the activities of UGS, making Siemens the "first supplier for the manufacturing industries to provide an end-to-end software and hardware portfolio encompassing the complete lifecycle of products and production facilities," said a company statement. UGS and Siemens A&D had begun a business relationship in 2003 with joint projects addressing digital manufacturing technology.
UGS, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has a workforce 7,300 and more than 46,000 customers in 62 countries. UGS' software portfolio covers the entire array of collaborative Product Data Management (cPDM), computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing/computer-aided engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) and digital manufacturing simulation ('digital factory'). In fiscal 2005, the company reported revenue of just under $1.2 billion.
"With the acquisition of UGS, we combine its competence in the sector of digital factories with our leading know-how in industrial automation. This combination makes our customers' processes faster, better and more cost efficient. With the unique combination, we underscore our position as a trendsetter in automation systems and bring this business into a new dimension," said Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO of Siemens AG.