The merger is expected to benefit design teams faced with the challenges of verifying multi-million gate system-on-chip (SoC) designs by providing a full suite of functional verification products integrated with IKOS’ high performance hardware-assisted platforms.
The purchase price per share, which will range between $6 and $20, will be determined by a formula based on IKOS’ financial performance in the 12-month period ending June 2002. Completion of the merger is targeted for August 2002 in order to ensure Synopsys’ full compliance with the terms of a five-year non-competition agreement arising from the June 1997 sale of its prior emulation technology.
Upon closing of the transaction, each shareholder of IKOS will receive Synopsys common stock. The functional verification problem faced by SoC designers today is growing exponentially, stated Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys. Our customers are demanding integrated solutions to address verification through every step of the design flow, and they require best-in-class technology in each product area. The combination of Synopsys and IKOS solutions will provide the deepest and broadest portfolio of integrated verification products in the industry.
With ever-increasing verification requirements, designers must employ both faster tools and smarter verification strategies to meet their goals. Synopsys provides the fastest RTL
simulation tools in the market, which are complemented by leading testbench automation, formal verification and coverage analysis tools to provide the fastest and smartest software-based solution in the industry. Adding IKOS’ technology-leading hardware-assisted verification platforms, which increase verification speed by orders of magnitude, will provide designers with the most complete solution for verifying very complex systems-on-chip.
IKOS has long held a vision of providing a broader offering of verification solutions and of seeing our hardware-assisted platforms become mainstream tools for the verification of large, complex designs. We see great opportunities and benefits for our customers arising from the combination of Synopsys’ best-in-class software solutions with IKOS’ leading-edge hardwareassisted platforms, stated Ramon Nuñez, president and CEO of IKOS. We have been a member of Synopsys’ in-Sync partnership program for many years. We shall continue this historical type of activity during the next year and we are excited about working together to create further state-of-the-art solutions for SoC functional verification after the merger is complete.
SOURCE: COMAPNY PRESS RELEASE
