From EE Times <<Cadence bids for Ambit>>
>>>>>
Posted: 10:45 a.m., EDT, 8/21/98
EDA shares fall on
Cadence-Ambit rumor
By Richard Goering
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. +erY-pSpeculation of an
imminent acquisition of Ambit Design Systems Inc.
by Cadence Design Systems Inc. was at least
partially responsible for a sudden drop yesterday in
the shares of Synopsys Inc., observers said.
Synopsys' stock dropped nearly 12 percent to
close at 31 3/16 and other EDA suppliers suffered
smaller losses on the day.
Sources said Thursday that Cadence (San Jose,
Calif.) was expected to announce an acquisition of
Ambit (Santa Clara, Calif.) for about $250 million.
No announcement came, and representatives of
both Cadence and Ambit declined to comment on
the rumors.
An acquisition of Ambit would put Cadence back
into the synthesis market and place it in direct
competition with Synopsys. It could also derail the
existing cooperation between the market's two
largest EDA companies, including the purchase by
Cadence's services organization of Synopsys'
Design Compiler.
But the Ambit rumor may not be the whole story.
Jennifer Smith, an analyst at Robertson Stephens
and Co., said investors are concerned about the
Asian financial crisis and by recent announcements
of earnings shortfalls by several semiconductor
companies. There's additional concern that
Synopsys' product license revenue might be "light"
this quarter due primarily to the way Synopsys
counts revenues.
Cadence closed Thursday at 28 3/8, off about 1.5
percent. Mentor Graphics Corp. and Avant! Corp.
also experienced slight drops. |
