HP to acquire 3Com in $2.7 billion deal
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 11th 2009 4:50PM
posted Nov 11th 2009 4:50PM
It's been a little while since we've seen a good multi-billion dollar acquisition, but HP's sure come through in a big way today, announcing that it plans to acquire networking giant 3Com in an all-cash deal valued at $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. The deal will, of course, still have to clear a few regulatory hurdles and receive the approval of 3Com's stockholders, but it has already been given the go-ahead by both company's boards of directors, and HP expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2010. Not surprisingly, HP sees nothing but pluses with the acquisition, saying that it will do nothing short of "transform the networking industry," and "enable customers to build a next-generation network infrastructure that supports customer needs from the edge of the network to the heart of the data center." Equally optimistic but slightly cooler on the world-changing language is 3Com CEO Bob Mao, who says that its company's "extensive product line and innovative technology together with HP's breadth and scale will expand our global opportunity."
HP acquiring a hardware company?? o_O
It not surprising.
HP Acquired the Legendary "Digital Equipment Corporation" (DEC)
Compaq
Voodoo
EDS
Cisco started making server so know HP is going to make switches lol
HP ProCurve Networking is the networking division of HP. They produce a line of network switches, wireless access points, WAN routers, and Access Control Servers/Software sold under the "HP ProCurve Networking" brand name. ProCurve is the world's second-largest vendor of networking switches based on port count and revenue[1]. They have the worldwide headquarters at Roseville in California, USA and they focus on the Enterprise and SMB Markets.
Switches. Now "Serious Business"™
All I need is a little crash landed alien tech and I can obliterate every company on the planet by offering vastly superior tech for $20
who wants a 50 Ghz computer for $99?
WTF is 3Com? Haven't heard of them since like 1997
They make state-of-the-art 56K baud modems for connecting to the intArnets.
They have a considerable market share in LAN network switching in Asia (I'd say 50% of the LAN swiches being used in some countries in the region are supplied by 3Com). They do not work in US market.
And you understand that US!=World
I agree! I thought 3Com disappeared ages ago!
Dont confuse 3com with USrobotics which may soon be selling regraded keychain digicams, as seen on TV USR Can Openers and Chef Knives.
ah... further market consolidation followed by "cost savings" = more layoffs....
Heeeey No HP Pac-Man Chomping 3Com? :( Come on Engadget! :p
I love it when the CEO of the company being acquired acts like their company is going to be an ongoing concern. Bob Mao is going to take his big fat buyout and go fishing for a while.
Fishing in his pool of money, that is.
Yep, Ron Rittenmeyer received a few peanuts from HP when he sold out...I mean merged EDS with HP.
CISCO SYSTEMS STILL OWNS YOU!!!
Not in Soviet Russia!
Oh, wait... o_O
wow i had to read that like 3 times, i was thinking 3m
Hell, so was I!
At first I thought "What the F*** will HP do with duct tapes and plastic bags?!"
They invented post-its...
Yes, with a very nice insider trading :
" someone made $840,000 due to their "prescient" knowledge that they should buy these $5 calls which, I might add, were more than a half-buck in the money and had nine days left to expiration.
If you believe that's a coincidence I'm Santa Claus."
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1615-Blatant-Insider-Call-Buying-COMS.html
HP could care less about 3com switches and routers, they are total crap. What they are after is the TippingPoint division which makes Intrusion Detection systems. Its the only part of 3com that is profitable and has some serious potential. 3com tried to sell of Tipping Point some time ago to chinese (HUAWEI), and US gvt stopped them dead, because pentagon and CIA bough tons of IPS boxes.
ltx900e; You are so wrong. Have you seen the products coming out of the 3Com/Huawei joint venture (H3C). This is what HP is buying.
Do a search for H3C S12500; this is a new product created to compete with the Cisco Nexus.
3com is still around? wtf?
I echo the "3Com, wtf?" statements. I haven't heard anything about them since I was 8 y/o having a nervous breakdown trying to install an ISA network card into our Packard Bell with a 100mhz Pentium. ARgggggggggg...
First off HP already makes switches. We have all hp switches. They rock have the same specs as cisco switches and cost half the price.
They dont need 3com . The only thing i can think is they are doing this to buy up the competition.
Wasn't the last billion dollar acquisition last month with Cisco trying to buy Tandberg? And for a whole 300 million bucks more than this deal. Good job guys, really got your finger on the pulse.
So this is what I took a 2.5% paycut for and now a Cut in my shift premium. Great Decision... /sarcasm
3COM also has a minor play in IP Telephony with the old NBX systems and newer SIP-based VCX platforms, putting HP on the map in a new segment against Cisco as well...
Am I the only person here that has two 3Com products (ADSL wireless router + PCMCIA Wifi card) which are less than 5 years old?
Yes, I think so.
You probably actually are the only person here with a PCMCIA Wifi card. In what? A Symbol industrial PDA?
I think its mostly about the patents 3com owns. That's what kept them in business over the last 10 years to cash in on royalties.
For anyone who is asking 'Why?'. 3Com and Huawei formed a joint venture named H3C. H3C is the number one/two network vendor in China and is branching out. All of 3Com hardware is from the joint venture.
View:
www.h3c.com
HP will now have end to end products.
Be prepared never to hear the name 3Com again.
I am an ex-employee of HP and i can say that they are the most disgusting company there is.
They will probably fire half of 3Com's employees and replace their products with crap. They will sell their new "better" HP crap to 3Com's customers until the customers realize that they are being sold cheap crap. Then HP will fire the other half of the employees, replace them with Hindi slaves and buy the next company.
Guess you were a casualty of WFRs?
The FTC needs to be awake on this.
What did HP do when they bought Compaq at their height. Compaq at the time was the leader. Now Compaq is a no-name computer (low end shall I say).
What did HP do when bought E-machines. Again, Anti-Trust bells shall ring bells on What HP Has Done...to buy-outs.
FTC; if you're listing...wake up!