Today in 3Com: Clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right
When HP recently agreed to buy 3Com for $2.7 billion, we learned two things: (1) The deal announcement was preceded by brazen insider trading, and (2) 3Com is one of few publicly-traded tech companies whose value has risen more than 20% since last fall's financial collapse (based on how much Bain Capital was planning to pay in 2007, before the feds intervened). Today we got updates on both issues. Bloomberg reports that the SEC is investigating the insider trading situation, in which trading volume on $5 strike calls grew by 40x just hours before HP sent out its press releases. It's obviously a welcome development, and perhaps signals that the SEC is finally getting tough on an illicit epidemic that has run rampant for years. Why it never did anything during the buyout boomtimes of 2006 and 2007 -- when option volume regularly bloomed before a take-private offer was made
