Network equipment company 3Com Corp. is planning to spin out security subsidiary TippingPoint Technologies through an initial public offering. Analysts estimate the unit could be worth more on its own to 3Com, who will hold a majority of it once it is separated from its parent. 3Com's December 2004 purchase of TippingPoint for $430 million was a boon for the Austin, Texas-based company, which had spent several years as a public company eking out revenue and narrowing net losses on its security hardware. Bringing it to the public markets again may be an attempt by 3Com to capitalize on the current interest in security firms. Intrusion prevention software maker Sourcefire Inc., for example, recently raised $75 million through an IPO and now has a market cap of $346 million. Others, including anti-spam filter Postini Inc., have hired bankers in anticipation of public offerings. 3Com would also be following in the footsteps of EMC Corp., which in April filed to spin out its rapidly growing VMWare subsidiary through an IPO. —Stacey Higginbotham

See June 29 story from Dark Reading
See April 26 story from TheDeal.com
See December 2004 story from TheDeal.com