3Com has named a new CEO who will be based in China and a new COO who will be based in the U.S. This intriguing development comes not long after 3Com withdrew from U.S regulatory consideration an acquisition proposal that would have seen China's Huawei Technologies and private equity firm Bain Capital buy 3Com for $2.2 billion. Robert Mao, who had been a director of 3Com and previously had worked for the company, is the new CEO, and Ron Sege, a longtime telecom veteran who most recently led Tropos Networks, is the new COO.
3Com's potential acquisition fell apart over concerns from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. that a Huawei, a firm connected to the Chinese government, would own at least 16% of 3Com. Since then, The Wall Street Journal reports, 3Com insiders, including Mao, have been buying up 3Com stock.
For more:
- see this report in the Wall Street Journal