Mentor updates shareholder rights rules; Dassault completes Apriso acquisition; head-up displays show up in family vehicles.
By Ed Sperling
Mentor Graphics put into place a second shareholder rights to plan to ward off hostile takeovers. This one increases the threshold for triggering the rights plan to 20% of common stock from the previous 15%, and allows a qualifying offer provision that allows the board to call a special meeting provided the exercise price per right is increased to $90 from $65. It also extends the plan date through June 30, 2015. The statement noted this was not adopted in response to any acquisition proposal. Mentor’s stock is trading in the $19 per share range.
Dassault Systemes completed its acquisition of Apriso, which makes manufacturing software. The purchase price was about $205 million in cash. The deal provides Dassault with real-time visibility and control over business processes in manufacturing plants and across the supply chain.
Automotive head-up displays are making their way into family cars for the first time, opening up a huge market for sophisticated electronics in automobiles. IHS predicts the number of units sold will increase to 9.1 million in 2020, compared with 1.2 million in predominantly high-end vehicles last year—or roughly 2% of the cars. IHS predicts future versions will combine the head-up display with a GPS, so the driver can see a map, turns, and even speed limits and traffic sign information on the windshield. But will they work with polarized lenses? Previous versions do not.
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