Venture capital backs Accent as ST pulls out

LONDON — Accent SpA, an Italian joint venture design house and IP licensor formed by STMicroelectronics and Cadence Design Systems Inc., has raised 10.6 million euro (about $13.3 million) in a financing round led by Sofinnova Partners.

The investment follows a decision by STMicroelectronics to divest its majority shareholding in Accent that was outlined in 2005. Italian private equity firm CAPE Natexis and a group of business angels have also participated in this financing. Cadence remains a minority shareholder, Accent said.

Accent did not reveal what share of the business 10.6 million euros has allowed the investors to acquire, nor what proportion of its stake, ST has sold.

“Accent is perfectly placed to act as a product design partner for large companies as well as the intermediary between semiconductor fabs and clients as companies look for one-stop-shop suppliers,” said Jean Schmitt, managing partner of Sofinnova Partners in a statement issued by Accent (Milan, Italy).

Founded in 1993, Accent has implemented over 300 designs resulting in over 50 million semiconductor parts manufactured for clients. It works with leading foundries, such as TSMC, Chartered and SMIC, and IDMs, such as ST and Infineon.

Massimo Vanzi, chief executive officer, said the investment would allow Accent to scale up its global sales operations by opening new offices in Europe and overseas as well as expand into cost-effective areas such as Eastern Europe, China and Singapore.