Avant Shares Plunge on Suit Prospects

Avant Corp. shares fell nearly 20% after a federal judge said he is considering whether to order an injunction against one of the company’s main software products. Avant shares fell $4.13 to close at $16.75 on Nasdaq. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte heard arguments in a Santa Clara court on Cadence Design Systems Inc.’s infringement suit against Avant last week and began considering whether to stop Avant from selling its main Aquarius software product, the companies said. Some investors are concerned that the judge may decide to block Aquarius at the next hearing scheduled for Friday. Whyte “will either decide whether to enjoin Aquarius or to hold a more thorough investigation,” said Emeric McDonald, an analyst at Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. In September, a California appeals court ordered Whyte to block Fremont-based Avant from selling its ArcCell software and investigate whether its Aquarius software uses Cadence’s programming code. ArcCell and Aquarius are used by semiconductor makers to speed up the design of computer chips. Cadence, based in San Jose, first sued Avant in 1995, claiming Avant stole Cadence’s code for ArcCell. Cadence shares fell 56 cents to close at $22.31 on the New York Stock Exchange.