AtopTech Inc., the once-promising vendor of place-and-route electronic design automation (EDA) software, announced that it filed for chapter 11 protection and expects to be sold after losing a long-running legal battle with leading EDA vendor Synopsys Inc., EE Times reported on Friday. ATopTech, which is privately held, announced that it filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to sell its business and has selected a stalking-horse bidder. It said that it expects a bankruptcy auction to take place in mid-March and that the sale will be completed by March 31. The company said that it expects to continue to manage and operate its business under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware until the sale.
