EC approves Hewlett-Packard's $2.7 billion acquisition of 3Com

Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world's No 1 personal computer maker, yesterday received approval from the European regulator for its $2.7 billion acquisition of 3Com.

In November, the Palo Alto-based HP had proposed to acquire networking-gear maker 3Com for $2.7 billion in cash, in order to enter into other areas than PC and pose a challenge to market leader Cisco systems in the network equipment market. (See: HP to acquire networking-gear maker 3Com for $2.7 billion)

In a statement released yesterday, the European Commission (EC) said that the acquisition "would not significantly impede effective competition" in Europe.
Unlike the Oracle acquisition of Sun Microsystems, the EC did not ask for a review or concessions before approving the HP deal.

HP, already a leader in PCs, servers and printers and with 2008 revenue of $118.364 billion, will be competing with Cisco Systems, Siemens, Alcatel and Emulex in the global network equipment market, which includes routers and switches.

Marlborough-based 3Com Corporation is a $1.3-billion global enterprise networking solutions provider with three global brands - H3C, 3Com and TippingPoint - that offer high-performance networking and security solutions.

3Com, which has a large presence in China through its H3C brand, has been competing with Cisco outside of China since it is a low-end provider of networking equipment.