Synopsys seeks to acquire engineering software company Ansys-sources

(This Dec. 22 story has been corrected to fix the reference to Ansys, not Synopsys, in paragraph 8)

By Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn

(Reuters) - Synopsys Inc, a maker of software used in chip design, has submitted an offer to acquire Ansys Inc, an engineering software vendor with a market value of $30 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The deal negotiations come as Synopsys co-founder Aart de Geus prepares to transition to an executive chairman role and hand over the chief executive reins to chief operating officer Sassine Ghazi on Jan. 1.

Synopsys' pursuit of a transformative acquisition amid a leadership change underscores the commercial appeal of Ansys' software, which is used widely in design, including in tennis to design rackets for players like Novak Djokovic.

Synopsys is one of the companies that has been in talks with Ansys about a potential deal, the sources said. Ansys has also attracted other suitors, and there is no certainty that Synopsys' bid will prevail, the sources added.

The offers that Ansys has attracted value it at well over $400 per share, and a deal could be announced in the coming weeks if the talks do not fall apart, the sources said.

The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential. Ansys and Synopsys declined to comment.

Bloomberg News earlier reported on Thursday Ansys was exploring a sale, without naming any suitor.

Ansys shares ended trading in New York on Friday up 18% at $357.98. Synopsys shares dropped 6% to $524.46.

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.

Synopsys, which has a market value of $85 billion, supplies software that engineers use to design and test chip circuits.

(Reporting by Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis)