Tech stocks slid modestly Friday, despite soaring buyout targets 3Com(COMS Quote) and Travelzoo(TZOO Quote).
3Com soared 34.2% after Bain Capital and China's Huawei Technologies agreed to buy the telecom-equipment maker for $2.2 billion. The offer of $5.30 a share represents a 44% premium over 3Com's $3.68 closing price Thursday. As part of the deal, affiliates of Huawei Technologies will take a minority stake in 3Com and become commercial and strategic partners, the company said. Shares gained $1.26 to $4.94. Travelzoo shares jumped 15.4%, after rumors surfaced that Priceline.com(PCLN Quote) was interested in buying the online travel site, according to Reuters. Shares peaked at $24.97 in late afternoon, before retreating to $22.95, a gain of $3.06. Priceline was down $1.10, or 1.2%, to $88.75. Nasdaq 100 component Logitech(LOGI Quote), which makes computer peripherals, was up 3.3% to $29.55. The index was down 5.28 points to 2091.11. Alcatel-Lucent(ALU Quote) was up 4.4%, after a French paper reported CEO Pat Russo was under pressure to pick up its performance. Shares gained 43 cents to $10.18. On the down side, Big Band Networks(BBND Quote) plummeted 29.4%, after the communications-equipment maker offered a dismal third-quarter outlook that moved two analysts to downgrade. The company sees sales of between $35 million and $39 million, $19 million below its prior forecast. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect revenue of $56 million. Morgan Keegan lowered its rating to market perform, from outperform, while Jefferies downgraded to hold from buy. Shares were sliding $2.67 to $6.40. Data storage supplier Network Appliance(NTAP Quote) also was sliding 71 cents, or 2.6%, to $26.91.



