In a deal set to close in the first quarter, Bain will pay approximately $2.2 billion in cash for Marlborough, Mass.-based 3Com, according to the report. As part of the deal, Huawai will acquire a minority stake in 3Com, the report said.
3Com could not immediately be reached for comment.
The acquisition is the latest in a string of high-profile deals that are bringing private equity into the enterprise technology sector. Avaya is in the midst of going private via an $8.2 billion deal with Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital. Online retailer CDW was acquired earlier this year by Madison Dearborn Partners for $7.3 billion.
Both Silver Lake and Bain have been courting 3Com, according to reports this summer. Rival Nortel Networks was also reportedly seeking a deal for 3Com.
For 3Com, the sale represents a reunion with former partner Huawei. 3Com in March paid $882 million to buy Huawei out of their Huawei-3Com joint venture. Now 3Com owns 100 percent of China-based H3C. Silver Lake, Bain Capital and TPG Capital bid against 3Com for Huawei's share of the joint venture.
The move comes as 3Com is preparing an aggressive push in the VoIP market.
3Com President and CEO Edgar Masri said last week that the company is poised to unveil its latest strategy for taking market share in low-end VoIP.
"We're planning a major push in VoIP around small businesses, and you will hear a lot more about it in coming weeks," Masri said last Thursday during a conference call to discuss the company's first-quarter financial results.
The effort will come as part of a broader quest to gain market share among small and mid-size customers across its product lines, Masri said.
For the quarter ended August 31, 3Com reported a loss of $18.7 million, or five cents per share, compared to a loss of $14.1 million, or 4 cents per share, for the same quarter a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter climbed to $319.4 million, up more than six percent from $300.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
3Com during the earnings call also said it would delay the planned IPO of its TippingPoint security division.
related stories
trending stories
Video
sponsored resources

Cloud PPG Showcase

100 People You Should Know Showcase

APC by Schneider Electric
IoT Platforms 360

Vertiv
Edge Computing 360

Best of Breed Showcase

Annual Report Card Showcase

NexGen Showcase

Symantec
Symantec Business Security Learning Center

ConnectWise
ConnectWise

RSA
RSA

NPD
Industry Trends 360

AT&T Cybersecurity
Cloud Security 360

Comcast
Comcast Business Learning Center

NetApp
NetApp Data Driven Learning Center

Silver Peak
Silver Peak Learning Center

BlackBerry Cylance
BlackBerry Cylance Learning Center

ID Agent
Managed Security 360

Wasabi
Wasabi

HP Inc.
HP Toner and Ink

Sophos
Sophos Cybersecurity Learning Center

Storagecraft
Disaster Recovery Learning Center

Eaton
Eaton Learning Center

Lenovo
Lenovo Learning Center

Scale Computing
Scale Computing Learning Center

SonicWall
Network Security 360

Cohesity
Cohesity Learning Center

Sherweb
Cloud Partner Programs 360

Dell EMC
Software-defined Data Center 360

Carbonite
Cloud Storage 360
Women of the Channel Showcase
