ESI Group Acquires OpenCFD

By DE Editors

ESI Group has acquired OpenCFD, an open-source CFD software provider, from SGI. ESI Group consequently becomes the owner of the OpenFOAM trademark, and assumes responsibility and initiative for the further development, quality and support of the software. ESI and SGI will expand their partnership and go-to-market collaboration to "improve accessibility of CFD," ESI says.

ESI will be the exclusive supporting arm of the OpenFOAM Foundation, the non-profit set up to ensure sustainable distribution of OpenFOAM, to guarantee the continuity of its open source business model and vision.
 
OpenCFD will be incorporated within ESI's consolidated results from September 11, 2012. The acquisition comprises 100% of the company's capital, and is being financed by the company's credit facilities.
 
"This acquisition is in line with our selective external growth strategy, and it reaffirms our ability to adapt to, welcome and anticipate changes in the virtual engineering market," said Alain de Rouvray, ESI's chairman and CEO. "Indeed we believe that the 'open source' software model and the associated use of cloud computing will accelerate the low cost and gradual adoption of numerical simulation and, when applicable, will facilitate the further migration to the high value creation of ESI's end-to-end virtual prototyping solutions."

For more information, visit ESI Group.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.