HP has officially completed its acquisition of networking hardware vendor 3Com in a move that is expected to accelerate HP's converged infrastructure strategy.
The deal, first revealed in December 2009, is valued at a price of $7.90 per share in cash or at an enterprise value of $2.7 billion.
An HP statement says the company will integrate 3Com's network switching, routing and security solutions with existing HP ProCurve solutions, creating a comprehensive portfolio for its customers.
New MD of HP SA, Frank van Rees, said in an earlier ITWeb interview that the acquisition will enable HP to build state-of-the-art data centres complete with converged networking.
“The 3Com acquisition will change the networking industry quite significantly,” said Van Rees. “We are currently number two in the networking market, but with the merger, we will have a bigger impact on the market against Cisco and it will be compelling for our customers as they will have more choice.”
The acquisition of 3Com expands HP's Ethernet switching offerings, adds routing solutions, and strengthens HP's position in the networking space - particularly in China. 3Com also brings network security capabilities through its TippingPoint portfolio.
According to the tech giant, its converged infrastructure strategy is built on the integration of servers, storage, networking, management, facilities and services.
The technology will enable an organisation to simplify its network, deploy an edge-to-core network fabric for the enterprise, and improve IT service delivery capabilities. HP has declined to comment further; however it says details on the deal will be revealed at a later date.
Last month, HP's competitors EMC and Cisco together with VMware introduced a joint research and development coalition called the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE). The coalition says it aims to virtualise and consolidate data centre infrastructure to reduce hardware and operating costs.
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