WILSONVILLE, OR – Following Mentor Graphics’ annual meeting here today, activist investor Carl Icahn is likely to win two seats on the EDA company’s board of directors, according to published reports.

Icahn is Mentor’s largest shareholder, with 14.7% of the printed circuit board and semiconductor software company’s stock. He made a $1.73 billion stalking horse for the company in February, a deal Mentor’s board rejected as too low. Icahn traditionally has opted to break up or sell companies he has gained control over, a fate Mentor is trying to avoid.

In March, Icahn nominated three candidates for the firm’s eight-person board, saying in repeated public letters and forums that the current board is entrenched and its performance compares poorly to its peer group, including Synopsys and Cadence.

Mentor has strongly asserted that the company is on the right track after two years of losses and that Icahn’s nominees are unqualified to oversee the CAD tool developer.

SAN JOSE — Cadence Design Systems today unveiled an online applications store accessible within the latest rev (16.5) of its signature OrCAD Capture schematic design tool.

SAN JOSE -- Cadence has acquired privately held foundation IP developer Altos Design Automation, the company said last night.

WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics, locked in a struggle with top shareholder Carl Icahn for control of the company, went on the offensive today, reporting preliminary results for its fiscal first quarter ended April 30.