In 1999, MSC.Software purchased Universal Analytics Inc. and Computerized Structural Analysis & Research Corp., two competitive sources of NASTRAN software who held only modest market share.
In October 2001, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenged the acqusitions on the grounds that they
substantially lessened competition and tended to create a monopoly in the relevant markets. The allegations gained end-user support when MSC.Software increased the license fee of its NASTRAN software
following the acquisition.
Recently, MSC.Software and the FTC came to an agreement,
heading off an administrative hearing scheduled to begin Tuesday in a Washington D.C. federal court.
MCAD Cafe has posted an informative article on the whole event
which contains further background.
After following these events, the question becomes, when the CFD software industry inevitably follows the same path of consolidation, will the FTC take issue?
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