China’s antitrust regulator has conditionally approved a $35bn takeover by US tech company Synopsys of smaller rival Ansys, with its decision coming soon after the Trump administration quietly eased restrictions on exports of chip design software tools.
Monday’s green light comes after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) paused the approval process in May, the Beijing-based regulator said in a statement, confirming a Financial Times report last month. Its statement revealed a quick turnaround, with SAMR taking just one day to grant the approval after it resumed the process last Friday.
In late May, Washington introduced restrictions that in effect banned chip design software makers such as Synopsys from selling to China. It then relaxed the policy at the beginning of this month, according to companies involved.