Networking equipment maker 3Com Corp. on Monday said its net loss widened in its fiscal third quarter on a tax provision, days after a proposed buyout offer fell through.

Net loss for the quarter ended Feb. 29 totaled $7.8 million, or 2 cents per share, versus a loss of $4.8 million, or a penny per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding a one-time tax liability provision, net income was 8 cents per share, ahead of analyst expectations of 3 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $336.4 million from $323.4 million.

Last week, private-equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC and its Chinese Partner Huawei Technologies Co. dropped a $2.2 billion offer to acquire 3Com, saying the Committee on Foreign Investment planned to block the buyout.

Bain said it offered 3Com several ways to restructure the deal to satisfy the U.S. government, but added no arrangement could be reached.

Washington had expressed concern about the deal since its announcement in September, over the possibility that sensitive military technology could be transferred to China through Huawei''s 16.5 percent stake in 3Com.

On Friday, 3Com shareholders approved the scrapped deal anyway.

Share rose 12 cents, or 6 percent, to $2.02 during aftermarket electronic trading, after closing up 2 cents at $2.



Source:businessweek

Tags:3Com