MENTOR GRAPHICS MERGES WITH COSOFT LTD; PROVIDES DESIGNERS WITH A MIXED
WINDOWS/UNIX EDA ENVIRONMENT

Extends Windows-Based Schematic Capture Product Family to Include ASICs,
FPGAs and ICs

WILSONVILLE, ORE. -- JANUARY 22, 1996 -- Mentor Graphics Corporation today
announced it has merged with CoSoft Limited, a UK-based company
specializing in Windows-based schematic entry software for the EDA
industry. As part of the merger, Mentor Graphics also announced it is
extending the recently introduced Personal Architect&#129 Windows- based
printed circuit board (PCB) schematic entry product family to include
schematic capture for ASICs, FPGAs and ICs.

For more than a year, the two companies have had an OEM agreement
encompassing the engineering, marketing and selling of the Personal
Architect product family, a Windows-based PCB schematic entry tool that
connects seamlessly with Mentor Graphics' UNIX-based Design Architect&#174
schematic capture tool. The merger represents another step forward in
Mentor Graphics' Systems-on-Silicon (SOS) Initiative&#129, which is
designed to provide customers with leading technologies, intellectual
properties and productized design flows. The merger is structured as a
pooling of interests. Mentor Graphics believes there will be no
significant impact on near-term earnings.

"I am happy to see Mentor Graphics bring this important technology into its
portfolio of world-class products," said George Broz, technical manager,
AT&T Global Business Communications Systems. "We're relying on Personal
Architect to increase the productivity and quality of our analog and
digital board designs. The tool enables our designers to download specific
factory-preferred component libraries from workstations to laptops so they
can work from home and on the road. Previously, they used a variety of
PC-based software products that allowed them to design prototypes only.
Getting the designs into production often required rework because of
component changes. With Mentor Graphics' new technology, the prototyping
and manufacturing development tools are closely coupled within Mentor
Graphics' tool suite, so we can complete our schematic designs using
components with manufacturability built into them. This reduces the risk
of falling behind schedule."

"We are pleased to provide this mixed Windows/UNIX design environment at a
time when our customers are looking for client/server and satellite design
environments," said Bob Ard, vice president, Design Creation, Mentor
Graphics. "This merger is consistent with our overall strategy of
developing and acquiring the best technology in the industry for our
customers. CoSoft has proven itself as a technology leader and, through
the OEM agreement, its products have made a great addition to our
worldwide product offering. Customers will continue to see added value in
this product family."

"We've enjoyed significant success as an innovative software company since
1987," said Jon Collins, managing director, CoSoft. "We look forward to
even greater success within the Mentor Graphics organization. With the
merging of our technologies, our customers will see even greater benefits
for their design flows." CoSoft will become part of Mentor Graphics'
Silicon System Division. Collins will serve as engineering manager for the
Personal Architect product family, which reports to Bob Ard.

"Purchasing CoSoft is a smart move," said Gary Smith, principal analyst for
the San Jose-based market research firm, Dataquest. "It will enhance
Mentor Graphics' high-end integration with a supplemental PC environment.
More users are demanding Windows-based schematic capture tools to give
them telecommuting capabilities. Mentor Graphics is meeting the demand.
One of the things I like most about Personal Architect is that it is made
to take advantage of existing design environments. It's important to have
one design environment for FPGA/CPLD and PC board design."

The Personal Architect product family is targeted at Windows-based
schematic capture. The software package enables teams to operate in one
design environment across multiple hardware platforms. Personal Architect
allows EDA designers to work in client/server and satellite
(non-networked) environments. Personal Architect's key feature is its
seamless integration with Mentor Graphics' UNIX-based Design Architect
schematic capture tool, which has more than 25,000 installed seats
worldwide. Engineers can now perform design capture on PCs while
maintaining binary data compatibility with Mentor Graphics' UNIX-based
schematic capture environment, eliminating the need to reformat design
information.

Founded in September 1987, CoSoft has been an innovative software company
specializing in the design and development of software for the ECAD/CAE
industries.

Established in 1981, Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:MENT) designs,
manufactures, markets and distributes electronic design automation (EDA)
software and provides professional services supporting its customers'
complete design environments. The company is a leader in worldwide EDA
sales, with revenues of $370,117,000 over the last reported 12 months.
Mentor Graphics is the first EDA vendor to win the STAR (Software
Technical Assistance Recognition) award, and the only EDA vendor to win
the award twice. The award is given annually by the Software Support
Professionals Association (SSPA) for service excellence. The company
currently employs approximately 2,045 people worldwide. In addition to its
corporate offices, Mentor Graphics has sales, support, software
development and professional services offices worldwide. The company's
headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon
97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentorg.com.
 
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