AllThingsD » Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Rejects Icahn's $1.91 Billion Bid

Shara Tibken and Melodie Warner — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:46:56 +0000

Mentor Graphics Corp. rejected billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s $1.91 billion takeover offer, saying the bid undervalues the company and putting itself up for sale isn’t in the best interest of shareholders.

Last month, Mr. Icahn offered to buy Mentor for $17 a share, less than two weeks after saying the chip-design software company should put itself on the block. Mr. Icahn is known for targeting companies he views as undervalued and seeking changes, such as new management, to boost shareholder value.

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Icahn Makes $1.91 Billion Bid for Mentor Graphics

Shara Tibken — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:05:53 +0000

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn offered to buy Mentor Graphics Corp. of the U.S. for $1.91 billion, less than two weeks after saying the chip-design software company should put itself up for sale.

The bid, valued at $17 a share, comes after Mr. Icahn’s $665 million takeover offer for power-generation company Dynegy Inc. expired on Friday. Mr. Icahn is well-known for targeting companies he views as undervalued, seeking changes such as new management to boost shareholder value.
Mr. Icahn and another Mentor investor, Casablanca Capital LLC, have criticized Mentor’s management for hurting shareholders and wasting money. Both Mr. Icahn and Casablanca—run by former Lazard banker Douglas Taylor and by Donald Drapkin, a former official with Lazard and Ronald O. Perelman’s investment firm—also have lambasted the Wilsonville, Ore., company for efforts to move up its annual shareholder meeting and undermine possible efforts to vote on rival board candidates.

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Mentor Graphics Cuts Guidance as Business Slows

Eric Savitz — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:07:47 +0000

Mentor Graphics (MENT) this morning said slowing customer activity has reduced the outlook for the second half of its fiscal year. For FY Q3 ended Oct. 31, the company now sees revenue of $185 million with a non-GAAP loss of five cents a share. Street expectations had been for revenue of $215.1 million and profits of 15 cents a share.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ending Jan. 31, the provider of chip design software sees revenue of $270 million and non-GAAP profits of 55 cents a share. The Street had been looking for $318.6 million and 93 cents.

In a statement, CEO Walden Rhines said that customers had historically negotiated contracts one-to-two quarters before expiration of their contracts.

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Cadence Leadership Released Into Wild

John Paczkowski — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:50:42 +0000

They’re clearing the decks at Cadence. CEO Mike Fister resigned Wednesday, along with four other senior executives, in the wake of mounting financial problems at the semiconductor company. Cadence (CDNS) offered little comment on the departures, which are effective immediately. Just that hollow “We wish them all continued success in the years ahead” typical of executive restructuring announcements. But it’s clear that the company’s leadership is paying the price for its deteriorating financial performance and the embarrassing failure of its bid to acquire rival Mentor Graphics (MENT). Said analyst Gary Smith, “Cadence is in trouble. I think they have really run out of time for a ‘save-Cadence-as-it-is project.’ Now it’s a rebuilding project.”