Mentor Graphics Acquires Escalade

WILSONVILLE, Ore., May 9 -- Mentor Graphics Corp. today announced that it acquired privately held Escalade, a provider of Hardware Description Language (HDL) graphical design tools for application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

HDL graphical design tools are used to capture and manage ASIC and FPGA designs. Two HDL languages are used by a majority of today's designers -- VHDL and Verilog.

``This acquisition solidifies Mentor's number-one position in the HDL graphical design market,'' said Anne (Wagner) Sanquini, vice president and general manager of Mentor Graphics® HDL design division. ``Our leadership now extends worldwide, with a strong Escalade customer base in Japan, coupled with Mentor's leadership in North America and Europe.''

Escalade's DesignBook(TM) product includes significant design reuse technology, including ModuleWare(TM) libraries for block-based design. Mentor Graphics will continue to support DesignBook, and customers will be offered an upgrade path to Mentor's next-generation graphical design product.

``This acquisition represents a very exciting next step for Escalade's technology,'' said Jean-Pierre Braun, president and CEO of Escalade. ``As a major EDA player, Mentor Graphics has the market strength and technology leadership to advance the HDL graphical design market.''

Mentor Graphics Corp. is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's largest electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $500 million and employs approximately 2,700 people worldwide. Company headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com.

NOTE: Mentor Graphics, Escalade and ModuleWare are registered trademark and/or trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Ryerson Schwark of Mentor Graphics Corporation, 503-685-1660, or ry_schwark@mentor.com, or Ellen Roeckl of Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide, 408-559-6090, or ellen_roeckl@benjamingroup.com for Mentor Graphics Corporation.