TROY, Mich., Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- An agreement-in-principle has been reached between Altair and EMSS, pursuant to which Altair will acquire 100 percent of EM Software & Systems – S.A. (Pty) Ltd and its international distributor offices in the United States, Germany, and China.  The agreement is expected to close early in 2014.

Altair is a global leader in the solver market, offering OptiStruct®, RADIOSS®, MotionSolve®, and AcuSolve® within the HyperWorks suite of engineering simulation software.  The addition of EMSS' comprehensive electromagnetic solver FEKO® will enhance the capabilities of the Altair offering, enabling further solver functionality for customers, particularly in the aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries.

"This agreement reflects Altair's resolve to continue to bring world-class technology to our customers, and demonstrates our long-term objective of organic growth, with strategic partnerships and acquisitions where it makes sense.  We are very pleased to integrate EMSS into the Altair family given its cutting-edge technology and knowledge of the electromagnetic (EM) domain," said James R. Scapa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altair Engineering, Inc.

"EMSS employees will join existing Altair technology development and local support organizations.  Their expertise will help Altair to become a force in electromagnetic simulation," said Dr. Uwe Schramm, Chief Technical Officer, Altair, responsible for solvers and optimization.  "Integration of the FEKO suite of electromagnetic solutions with Altair HyperWorks will give our customers access to additional smart multiphysics and design optimization capabilities, for instance addressing coupled electromagnetic-thermal or electromagnetic-mechanical problems."

"We are very excited to join forces with Altair and become part of a leading global engineering organization which shares our value system with respect to customer and employee satisfaction," noted Dr. Ulrich Jakobus, original author of FEKO, Director and FEKO Product Manager, EMSS.  "We look forward to broadening our electromagnetic portfolio and serving our customers even better with enhanced technical solutions and services, while retaining our world-class technical support.  Existing and future FEKO customers will benefit from the sharing of computer-aided engineering and high-performance computing knowledge between our teams and Altair."

About Altair
Altair is focused on the development and broad application of simulation technology to synthesize and optimize designs, processes and decisions for improved business performance.  Privately held with more than 2,000 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA and operates more than 40 offices throughout 20 countries.  Today, Altair serves more than 5,000 corporate clients across broad industry segments.  To learn more, please visit www.altair.com.

About EMSS
EMSS was founded in 1994 as a company consulting in electromagnetic field analysis and antenna design.  Through consulting services EMSS identified the local and international need in the aerospace, naval and automobile industries for the simulation of antennas on electrically large platforms.  The commercial code FEKO (www.feko.info) has some special features like hybrid methods catering for this market.  FEKO's applications extend beyond antenna design and antenna placement into areas such as electromagnetic compatibility (shielding, coupling, cable harness analysis), microstrip circuits and components, radar scattering analysis, and bio-electromagnetics.

SOURCE Altair