New York (ap) -- Wall Street investors are among the most loyal users of 3Com's popular Palm electronic organizer. But now they get to vote about how the gadget really stacks up against the competition.
Four years after creating the handheld computer market, 3Com Corp. plans to spin off its Palm computing unit into a separate public company, hoping to unleash a flood of investment capital to finance the fight against a slew of newcomers.
3Com hopes separating the two companies will help it focus on its main business of selling computer modems and networking equipment, such as routers that help data move between computers. Despite its popularity as the No. 1 handheld computer, the Palm never drew investors to 3Com in part because it didn't complement the company's other products.
3Com said Monday it wanted to launch an initial public offering early next year, selling 20 percent of Palm to investors. The deal could value the new company anywhere from $5 billion to $10 billion, analysts estimated.
Investors welcomed the IPO announcement. 3Com's stock soared 6 percent, or $1.62 1/2, to $28.87 1/2 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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