National Instruments Corp. (NI, Austin, TX) announced the acquisition of Electronics Workbench (Toronto, Canada), a supplier of electronics design automation software. The Electronics Workbench flagship product, Multisim circuit simulation software, is widely used for electronic circuit design, board layout and electrical engineering training programs by companies and academic institutions. The acquisition strengthens the integration between functional test and design tools and will advance graphical system design technology.
NI will retain all Electronics Workbench employees and continue to operate the company as a separate entity in Toronto. National Instruments and Electronics Workbench development teams will work to further integrate the products and knowledge of the two companies. As a wholly owned subsidiary of NI, Electronics Workbench plans to continue to develop and offer its complete line of design automation software and directly support educational initiatives with uninterrupted support to participating schools. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on NI's earnings for the first quarter of 2005.
