SoC design company Cadence (Nasdaq: CDNS) announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Arm (Nasdaq: ARM) to acquire Arm's Artisan foundation IP business, which includes standard cell libraries, memory compilers and general-purpose I/Os optimised for advanced process nodes.

This acquisition will enhance Cadence's design IP portfolio, complementing its leading offerings in protocol, interface, memory interface, SerDes, and embedded security IP from the pending Secure-IC acquisition.

The transaction, structured as an asset purchase with a concurrent technology licence agreement, includes the transfer of a highly skilled engineering team. This strategic move reinforces Cadence's commitment to accelerating customer time to market and optimising cost, power and performance in SoC designs on leading foundry processes.

Anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions, the deal is expected to be immaterial to revenue and earnings this year. Cadence continues to pioneer innovation in AI and digital twins through its Intelligent System Design(TM) strategy, serving top-tier semiconductor and system companies worldwide.