3Com, Broadcom in Networking Pact

3Com (COMS Quote) and Broadcom (BRCM Quote) announced an agreement Monday to develop and jointly market products for high-speed network connectivity based on the Gigabit Ethernet standard.

Gigabit Ethernet provides a data rate of 1 billion bits per second, accelerating the convergence of voice, video and data in corporate networks and enabling users to easily exchange larger graphics and imaging files.

3Com also said it will sell up to 7.1 million shares, or 2% of its common shares, to Broadcom through Dec. 4, 2002. The companies said the per-share and purchase price of the warrant will be based upon 3Com's closing price during the current month. 3Com is already a shareholder in Broadcom.

Shares of 3Com recently gained 38 cents to $10, while shares of Broadcom were up $1.28 to $129.50 on pre-open Island trading.

3Com also said its pending acquisition of the Gigabit Ethernet card unit of Alteon WebSystems, part of Canada's Nortel Networks (NT Quote), will enable it to extend its delivery of high-performance wired and wireless solutions. Alteon WebSystems was among the first to ship Gigabit Ethernet solutions, the company said.