HP Announces $2.7bn Acquisition of 3Com

HP has announced a $2.7 billion acquisition of networking company 3Com.

Despite yesterday being Veteran's Day, HP was busier than ever. At the end of the business day, the company announced plans to purchase networking company 3Com in a multi-billion dollar deal.

The deal, already approved by the board, will see HP acquire 3Com for $7.90 per share, or $2.7 billion and bring the two that little bit closer to networking competitor, Cisco.

CNet reports that Cisco released the following statement in response to the news:

"While Cisco has a healthy respect for all of our competitors, acquisitions in our industry only validate the fact that networking is becoming the platform for all forms of communications and IT. As the leader in the networking market, Cisco is very confident in our business strategy, commitment to product innovation and ability to provide strategic business value to our customers in a highly competitive marketplace."

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2010.