3Com-Bain-Huawei Deal: 3Com Shareholder Vote Set
Posted on January 28, 2008
Filed Under China Business |
Shanghai Daily reports:
3COM Corp, the networking-equipment maker whose takeover by a Chinese company is under government scrutiny, said its shareholders will vote on the transaction on February 29.
The board is advising that investors vote in favor of the US$2.2-billion sale to Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co and Bain Capital LLC, 3Com said in a regulatory filing. Shareholders who owned stock as of January 22 are eligible to vote, said Bloomberg News.
Barring any sudden bursts of jingoistic fervor, shareholders should approve the takeover. 3Com is utterly dependent on Huawei for most of its orders and China is its best market opportunity.
The most important vote is still out: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has yet to approve the deal. CFIUS is vetting the deal for any national security implications.
The approval process has dragged on long past the initial thirty day period. That means that there were enough questions about 3Com’s security subsidiary, TippingPoint, to go into a second phase. TippingPoint’s intrusion prevention appliance is used in America’s Department of Defense and the National Security Agency. They’d rather that patches and updates not include any code from China.
The likeliest result is that 3Com sells Tippingpoint to win approval.
In the meantime 3Com’s shareholders should be voting with their feet and run to the mailbox. Posting a yes vote gets them US$5.30 a share, a buck and change premium over 3Com’s Friday closing price of US$4.19.
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I was told by a Tippingpoint employee that their intent is to finish the Tippingpoint IPO before the Huawei/Bain deal goes through.