Autodesk to buy Britain's Delcam for $277 million

(Reuters) - Autodesk Inc, a maker of computer-aided design (CAD) software, said it would buy Britain's Delcam Plc for 172.5 million pounds ($277 million), in a deal to expand the U.S. company's software offerings in the manufacturing sector. Autodesk offered 20.75 pounds per share, a premium of 21 percent to Delcam's Wednesday close on the London Stock Exchange. Autodesk said it expects to use non-U.S.-based cash for the deal. "Together Autodesk and Delcam will help further the development and implementation of technology for digital manufacturing," Autodesk Chief Executive Carl Bass said in a statement. Birmingham-based Delcam is a supplier of advanced CADCAM and industrial measurement solutions for the manufacturing industry. Autodesk expects the deal to be dilutive to its non-GAAP earnings in fiscal 2015, while adding to its non-GAAP earnings in fiscal 2016. ($1 = 0.6219 British pounds) (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)