Jensen,
Mentor fought off the 2008 hostile acquisition from Cadence at $16/share, and this Icahn offer of $17/share is deja vu all over again. At the annual share holder meeting we will soon discover the sentiment of the shareholders on changing or keeping the board members. Mentor acquired some 12 companies in 2010 although they don't make a press release for each deal.
Yes, I agree that Apache DA is best positioned for an IPO or merger in 2011.
Altium could be acquired because of their weak financial performance on the Australian stock market.
Synopsys will continue to acquire IP companies.
Cadence will continue to acquire companies to fill out their EDA360 vision.
Atrenta looks strong to me, maybe they should merge with Apache.
SpringSoft looks healthy and in growth mode.