3Com Corp.'s [COMS] already hurting stock price dropped 12 percent in afternoon trading on news that Bain Capital Partners LLC has terminated its $2.2 billion take-private offer amid regulatory concerns. The deal, which included an equity investment from Chinese electronics maker Huawei Technologies Inc., faced disapproval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a national security review panel. Huawei chief marketing officer Xu Zhijun memorably disagreed.

3Com said yesterday it would proceed with a scheduled shareholder meeting that would include a vote on the matter Friday, apparently in the hopes of keeping the deal alive long enough to pursue a breakup fee. But Bain pulled the plug in advance of that meeting, saying that 3Com and Bain failed to reach an alternative agreement that would withstood the Committee's scrutiny. Most likely, that would have involved the sale of 3Com's TippingPoint security division, which sells to the U.S. military.

As of Thursday afternoon, 3Com shares traded below $2.00 for the first time since the early 1990s, and its market capitalization had fallen below $800 million. -- Paul Bonanos

See Mar. 20 press release from Bain Capital Partners