Ansys explores sale amid takeover interest -sources
By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Engineering software firm Ansys Inc is exploring options including a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal for Ansys could be announced in the coming weeks if the talks do not fall apart, the sources said, adding Ansys is working with advisors to evaluate its options. The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
Bloomberg earlier reported on Ansys exploring a sale. Ansys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brokerage Oppenheimer said on Friday that Ansys could be worth up to $400 per share in the event of a deal. The company's shares were trading up more than 9% at $330.54 on Friday after news of the talks broke, giving the company a market value of about $29 billion.
Oppenheimer analyst Ken Wong, who has an "outperform" rating on Ansys, said potential suitors for the company include Siemens , Honeywell International and General Electric as they have all "previously shown an appetite for software."
"(Ansys) shares would trade at 43-45x EV/FCF and 38-40x PE, which we see as reasonable," Wong wrote in a note on Friday.
Ansys is a maker of simulation software, which is typically used to forecast how it can be applied across different industries in the real world. (Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York Editing by Chris Reese)
