PALO ALTO — Dassault Systèmes, a French maker of 3D design software, announced Thursday plans to acquire Accelrys Inc., a San Diego-based provider of lifecycle management software, for $750 million. Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Paul Hastings, respectively, provided legal advice to the companies.

Accelrys’ software is geared toward chemistry, biology and materials, and the combination is expected to enhance Dassault’s molecular chemistry capabilities.