Software-engineering company Engineering Animation, established by ISU professors and graduate students in the late 1980s, is being sold to a St. Louis technology company for $205 million in cash. The agreement to sell Engineering Animation, Inc., to Unigraphics Solutions, Inc., was announced Tuesday. The deal was approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to be finalized in October. Local investors in Engineering Animation will receive $13.75 for each share from Unigraphics Solutions, a provider of collaborative product-development software and services. Stock values for EAI have ranged from $7 to $11.25 over the past two weeks, which is less than the premium offered to the shareholders under the definitive agreement, said Tony Affuso, president and CEO of Unigraphics Solutions. EAI, which aims at helping manufacturing companies drive down costs while improving business practices, closed out August on the NASDAQ at $11. Executives from EAI and UGS said the union will benefit both companies. “There is a lot of synergy,” Affuso said. “There is very little redundancy between the two companies. Sometimes, one company will buy out another company, and you wind up having to reduce your people. We have a situation where one compliments the other.” Ames-based EAI will benefit from a larger customer base, while UGS expects to set a new standard for the industry. “The biggest benefit for us [UGS] is that we would create a standard in the industry for the design collaboration over the Internet,” Affuso said. “We believe that by working together, we can do more business and sell more of the EAI product line, because we have a large installed base to sell it into, as well as new customers we will pick up. It will help both of us.” Additionally, EAI’s resources will give UGS an edge in its Internet work. “We will be providing additional tools to the company so they can have a broader products set, and also with a talented group of people,” said Jamie Wade, EAI vice president of administration and general council. Affuso said the company plans to keep the research and development center in Iowa. Since the companies’ services and products are complimentary and do not overlap, the Ames company will not be forced to lay off many personnel, with the exception of a few management positions. “We’re happy with the center,” Affuso said. “They have a good group of people and a good local-talent pool in the area.” The Ames location will be one of 12 research and development centers under the UGS domain around the world, Affuso said. The two companies have worked closely for two years, and both deal with automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries, Wade said. The companies already share many customers, including General Motors, General Electric, BMW, Caterpillar and Hyundai, Affuso added. EAI stock closed out the day at 13 7/16, up 2 3/8 on the NASDAQ. Unigraphics Solutions closed out the day on the New York Stock Exchange at 21 3/4, up 9/16. The companies are on the Web at www.eai.com and www.ugsolutions.com.