HP said Wednesday it has agreed to pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, a 39 percent premium to 3Coms closing stock price before the deal was announced. 3Com makes things like routers and switches that direct Internet and other data traffic.
HP also raised its 2010 guidance and reported preliminary quarterly earnings that topped Wall Streets forecasts. The company didnt provide specific reasons for its better outlook, other than a statement from CEO Mark Hurd that “significant growth in China” and “solid execution” helped HP in the quarter.
The 3Com acquisition represents the latest attempt by HP, the worlds No. 1 maker [...]

Volume in contracts to buy shares of the Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company surged to the highest level since September 2007 before Hewlett-Packard Co. said it would buy the maker of computer-networking equipment for $2.7 billion.
“I dont believe in that much luck,” said Steve Claussen, chief investment strategist at OptionsHouse LLC, the Chicago- based online brokerage unit of options trading firm PEAK6 Investments LP, and a former market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. “If youre on the other side of someone buying calls and a takeover [...]

3Com shareholders will receive $7.90 a share in cash, 39 percent more than yesterdays closing price, said Hewlett- Packard, the worlds largest personal-computer maker. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2010.
Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd has used acquisitions to expand in businesses that deliver higher profits than its mainstay PCs and printers. Cisco, the No. 1 maker of networking equipment, estimates the market for data-center products at $20 billion. With 3Com, Hewlett-Packard gains products, engineers and a company with a [...]