HP buys network firm 3Com for $2.7 billion
updated 05:25 pm EST, Wed November 11, 2009
Gives HP control of networking
HP in a late afternoon update said it had bought 3Com in a cash deal the equivalent of $2.7 billion. The deal is meant to help HP's involvement in the server and networking businesses and turns the PC builder into a near-total source for datacenters and other large-scale server environments. The two partners are still waiting on government approval but hope to complete the deal sometime in the first half of next year.
The buyout is already considered a hedge against 3Com's usual rival Cisco, which itself has been venturing beyond the network through a storage deal with EMC that also involves virtualization expert VMware.
It's unknown what impact the merger will have on 3Com's other products. Besides business-class networking, it also offers security services and produces a number of products for home users, such as hybrid modem/router combos. It's also unsaid whether or not HP will roll technologies acquired from 3Com into any non-business products.
