The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday it had opened a formal “phase one” merger probe into the acquisition and set a Dec 20. date to decide whether to escalate it to an in-depth probe.
Synopsys, based in Sunnyvale, California, makes software used to design semiconductors, while Ansys makes simulation software used by engineers to help predict how products will work in the real world. The purchase, which was announced in January, ...

