By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Synopsys SNPS.O on Monday sought European Union antitrust approval for its $35 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of engineering software maker Ansys ANSS.O, the chip design software company said.

Synopsys announced the deal in January, the biggest in the technology sector since chipmaker Broadcom's AVGO.O $69 billion buy of software maker VMware last November.

"We look forward to working constructively with the European Commission in its standard merger review process," the company said in a statement.

"Synopsys remains confident in a positive resolution of the ongoing regulatory review processes, and we continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2025."

Synopsys makes tools to design the chips themselves, a complement to offerings from Anysys, which makes software used in creating products from airplanes to tennis rackets of players like Novak Djokovic.

Analysts said the deal will create a massive new player in the semiconductor electronic design automation sector which is already highly consolidated between Synopsys and design software firm Cadence Design Systems CDNS.O.

The EU competition enforcer, which is expected to set a mid-December deadline for its preliminary review, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It can either clear the deal with or without remedies after its initial assessment or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns.

Sources said the Commission will likely launch a full-scale investigation after its preliminary scrutiny.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 585 2866; Reuters Messaging: foo.yunchee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))