EXHIBIT 73
 
CONTACTS:
 
QUICKTURN DESIGN SYSTEMS, INC.                      ABERNATHY MACGREGOR FRANK
Ray Ostby                                           Matt Sherman
(408) 914-6000                                      (212) 371-5999
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
                        DELAWARE CHANCERY COURT DENIES
                 MENTOR'S ELEVENTH-HOUR ATTEMPT TO DELAY VOTE
 
 SPECIAL MEETING OF QUICKTURN STOCKHOLDERS TO PROCEED AS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY
                                    8, 1999
 
  SAN JOSE, Calif., January 8, 1999 -- Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:
QKTN) today announced that the Delaware Chancery Court has denied an
application by Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) for a temporary
restraining order to postpone or adjourn Quickturn's Special Meeting of
Stockholders scheduled for today, January 8, 1999. The Court's denial allows
the Special Meeting to take place as scheduled.
 
  Keith R. Lobo, president and chief executive officer of Quickturn, said,
"We're pleased with the Court's ruling and we look forward to proceeding with
our Special Meeting."
 
  Mr. Lobo continued, "Mentor's eleventh-hour public statements seek to erect
a smokescreen around our superior definitive merger agreement with Cadence
Design Systems. The Cadence agreement will provide $15 per share of Cadence
stock for 100% of Quickturn's outstanding shares. Our agreement with Cadence
will enable Quickturn stockholders to continue to participate in Quickturn's
future growth, and to enjoy the added benefits of Cadence's proven business
strategy, strong balance sheet and excellent track record in acquiring and
integrating companies.
 
  "Mentor started out with an inadequate offer. Since Quickturn's merger
agreement with Cadence, Mentor has scrambled to provide Quickturn stockholders
with ever-shifting reasons to vote for Mentor's nominees. Mentor's litigation
and unfounded assertions about Cadence's merger agreement with Quickturn are
nothing but distractions. Mentor has simply failed to provide our stockholders
with a superior, fully financed offer for all of Quickturn's shares," Mr. Lobo
concluded.
 
  Quickturn Design Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of verification
products and time-to-market engineering (TtMETM) services for the design of
complex ICs and electronic systems. The company's products are used worldwide
by developers of high-performance computing, multimedia, graphics and
communications systems. Quickturn is headquartered at 55 W. Trimble Road, San
Jose, CA 95131-1013; Telephone: 408/914-6000. For more information, visit the
Quickturn Web site at www.quickturn.com or send e-mail to info@quickturn.com.
 
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