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Hexagon sells design and engineering unit in US$3.2bn deal
18 September 2025
US-based software company Cadence has agreed to acquire the design & engineering (D&E) business of Sweden’s Hexagon, including the MSC Software brand, in a deal valued at approximately €2.7 billion (US$3.2 billion).
Hexagon is offloading its design and engineering business in a deal valued more than US$3 billion. Image: Hexagon
The transaction will expand Cadence’s system design and analysis portfolio, building on its 2024 acquisition of Beta CAE, and strengthen its position in the multi-billion-dollar structural analysis market.
About 70% of the purchase price will be paid in cash, with the remainder in Cadence stock.
Hexagon’s D&E unit is known for simulation products such as MSC Nastran and Adams, widely used in aerospace and automotive design for structural and multibody dynamics modelling.
The business generated about $280 million in revenue in 2024 and employs more than 1,100 people worldwide.
Cadence president and CEO Anirudh Devgan said, “By adding Hexagon’s D&E world-class simulation capabilities, we will expand our vision of Intelligent System Design to encompass the full spectrum of physical behaviour, from electromagnetics and fluids to structures and motion.”
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
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