High Profile Adviser for Mentor?

The Oregonian speculates that Quattrone was in Wilsonville to advise Mentor on the offer from Cadence. Mentor spokesman Ry Schwark, who confirms that Quattrone attended, declined to comment. Ry pointed out that Quattrone had played a role in taking Mentor public in 1984. Quattrone has recently advised Google with respect to Microsoft's bid for Yahoo Inc.

Quattrone helped bring dozens of companies public during the 1990s tech boom, including Cisco, Netscape and Amazon.com. He was one of the first investment bankers to meet with Google when the company was in its infancy. The Oregonian reported that Sally Palmer, at Qatalyst, also declined to comment on Quattrone's role with Mentor, if any. "We just can never talk about prospective or current assignments," she said.

Quattrone's presence at the meeting touched off speculation among stock analysts that he might be helping Mentor push Cadence to boost its $1.5 billion offer. Mentor has rejected Cadence's bid and refused to negotiate, terming the offer too low and saying antitrust regulators might reject the deal. Cadence had no comment on Quattrone's potential involvement.