Santa Clara, California-based 3Com Corp has snapped up remote monitoring specialist Axon Networks Inc of Newton, Massachusetts for $65m dollars, just one week after rival Bay Networks paid $33m for Israeli RMON developer Armon Technologies Ltd (CI No 2,865). The acquisition, which is primarily for cash, is seen by 3Com as the fastest way to put it in a prime position to capitalise on the growing market for remote network management systems – the only reason 3Com paid such a steep price for a company that has sales of only around $7m and low profits. 3Com expects a significant part of the purchase price to be allocated to in-process technology, which will result in a one-time pre-tax charge to operations of approximately $45 to $50m in the fourth fiscal quarter. Axon – the brainchild of Peter Palmer who also founded Spider Systems Ltd, which was sold for $70m last year to Shiva Corp – has also been involved in the development of the existing RMON and RMON 2 standards. Axon, which employs 50 people, will become part of 3Com’s Network Management division but its research and development will remain in Edinburgh, Scotland, where 30 people are employed. According to Bob Cushing, 3Com’s European marketing manager, there will be no changes there and added We tend not to disturb the engineering teams. LANServant remote monitoring software will be integrated into 3Com’s Transcend Network Architecture. Axon’s largest customer is IBM Corp, which uses LANServant Remote Monitoring kit in its N- Way Management products.
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