Despite bad news for 3Com Corp.'s buyout, technology stocks helped provide a jolt to the broader market Wednesday and topped gains among
stocks involved in pending deals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 90.03 points to reach 12,427.26 thanks in part to a boost from the tech sector leader Hewlett-Packard Co., which boosted its earnings outlook.
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The tech jolt was felt among deal stocks, especially among semiconductor companies. Amis Holdings Inc., the target of an acquisition by competitor ON Semiconductor Corp., soared 6.13% Wednesday to close at $6.93 per share. ON Semi climbed 6.47% to $6.09 per share, which would value the deal price at about $7 per share as ON Semi has agreed to issue 1.15 of its own shares for every Amis share.
Isreali chipmaker Saifun Semiconductors gained 3.74% to close at $8.05 per share. The semiconductor company announced on Dec. 20, 2007, shareholder approval of a $368 million, or $11.26 per share, acquisition by memory chip company Spansion Inc. The buyer's shares jumped 5.37% to $3.14.
Networking equipment maker 3Com missed the tech wave, plummeting 23.06% to $2.87 per share. 3Com said that it and its prospective buyer Bain Capital LLC have withdrawn their filing seeking approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the agency that monitors deals for national security issues. Bain's $2.2 billion buyout deal faced concern from lawmakers due to minority investor partner Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s connection with the Chinese government. - Michael Rudnick
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