July 16, 2007 – Synopsys Inc. has agreed to purchase certain of Mosaid Technologies Inc.’s semiconductor IP assets, consisting mainly of DDR memory controllers and phase-locked loop product families, for $15 million in cash, to bolster its DesignWare IP portfolio of standards-based connectivity IP.

The sale lets Mosaid move ahead as a pure-play IP property company, focusing on patent licensing and advanced memory R&D, noted John Lindgren, company president and CEO. “We decided that these assets would perform better in the hands of an industry leader with complementary product lines and the scale to succeed in a competitive market, allowing us to concentrate on our core business,” he said, in a statement.

For Synopsys, the deal adds DDR2 and DDR3 memory interfaces to its portfolio of standards-based connectivity IP. “The addition of Mosaid’s DDR memory interface IP and engineering team will give our mutual customers access to a complete, high-quality, silicon-proven DDR IP solution for a broad set of process technologies,” stated Joachim Kunkel, VP and GM of IP and system level solutions at Synopsys. The company noted that its DesignWare DDR IP portfolio now includes digital memory controllers (protocol and memory controllers), hardened mixed-signal DDR PHYs, and verification IP, covering “leading foundries'” 130nm-65nm process nodes.

The deal is expected to close next month (August 2007), with payment subject to a $2 million holdback for one year.