3Com Corp. (Nasdaq: COMS) received a $2.7 billion takeover bid from Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) to help the computing giant expand its networking equipment product line. Shares of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) tumbled $1.16 to $8.09 as speculation ended that the networking gear was also targeted by HP for an acquisition. 3Com stock leaped $1.80 to $7.48 while shares of Hewlett-Packard eased 24 cents to $49.76.
