Keysight Technologies this week shared an update on progress toward its squeeze-out acquisition of real-time digital twin company ESI Group, which was announced in June 2023.
ESI Group shares have ceased trading on Euronext Paris, pending the implementation of the squeeze-out. Keysight said that its offer will be settled on January 18, at which point it will hold shares representing 98.2% of share capital and 96.4% of theoretical voting rights. Once that happens, it will make a formal request for implementation of the squeeze-out.
ESI Group has a presence in more than 15 countries and employs 1,000 people around the world, according to Keysight. The company reported 2022 sales of 130 million euros. Keysight’s offer values the company at nearly $1 billion.
ESI focuses on sophisticated software prototyping for the automotive and aerospace markets, with the ability to simulate a product’s behavior during both testing and real-life use, according to Keysight. “ESI Group’s real-time digital twin solutions combine model-driven simulation with data-driven test to create virtual simulations, and its immersive industrial solutions enable workflow automation and virtual manufacturing,” Keysight has said. With product development across many industries shifting toward virtualization, Keysight will bring ESI Group into its electronic design and test portfolio to expand its software prototyping capabilities.
“Keysight’s acquisition of ESI Group accelerates our strategy of providing software-centric solutions with virtual prototyping and advanced simulation capabilities,” said Satish Dhanasekaran, Keysight’s president and CEO at the time that the acquisition was announced.
In other test news:
-ICYMI: Opensignal released its latest assessment of user experience on national mobile networks in the U.S. Quite a few of its categories have carriers neck-and-neck, but there are still some big gaps when it comes to upload and download speeds. Read the details here.
–TÜV Rheinland announced that it is now an Authorized Test Lab (ATL) for Wi-Fi Alliance, with special focus on Wi-Fi 7 certification based on the freshly released Wi-Fi Certified 7 specifications for customers around the world.
“Becoming an ATL at the global level represents a major step in strengthening our leadership, as well as demonstrating our prowess in wireless services, particularly in the context of the Internet of Things. We know that the technology sector is one of the most rapidly changing, so it is important for TÜV Rheinland to now be able to provide our solutions as part of the Wi-Fi Alliance because it will propel us forward in the marketplace,” said David Spencer, director of wireless services at TÜV Rheinland North America.
–Dish Wireless was awarded a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with the aim of establishing the Open RAN Center for Integration & Deployment (ORCID). Companies and universities will be able to validate O-RAN solutions against Dish’s Open RAN network at the ORCID.
That funding was part of the third wave of Wireless Innovation Fund awards. Another notable recipient: Viavi Solutions garnered $21.7 million over three years, to put together a hybrid of physical lab infrastructure plus a cloud-based testing lab-as-a-service (LaaS). That service is called Viavi Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN, or VALOR. VALOR aims to create a “fully automated, cooperative, open and impartial testing-as-a-service (TaaS) offering that is dedicated to Open RAN interoperability, performance and security.”
Viavi said in a release that VALOR is based on its Nitro wireless test portfolio.
“Viavi is proud to be a recipient of a grant from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which will make Open RAN testing accessible, affordable, and sustainable for the entire ecosystem,” said Oleg Khaykin, president and CEO of the company. “Open RAN is critical to securing the telecommunications supply chain of our nation, but the inherent openness and flexibility of this technology also bring about complexities. As a leader in 5G and upcoming 6G, Viavi is committed to certification, benchmarking, optimization and verification to enhance the efficiency, automation, and security of Open RAN systems.”
More details on the rest of the recipients in this story.
