3Com shares rise after report of buyout interest

3Com Corp. shares rose in after-hours trading after The Wall Street Journal reported buyout firms are examining possible takeover offers for the unprofitable maker of computer-networking gear. Buyout firms such as Silver Lake Partners and Boston-based Bain Capital LLC approached 3Com about a purchase, the Journal said on its website. The two firms unsuccessfully sought last year to buy 3Com's stake in its profitable Chinese joint venture with Huawei Technologies Co. (Bloomberg)

Bear Stearns Cos. told clients that a meltdown in the subprime mortgage market has made the assets of two of its flagship hedge funds almost worthless. The assets in one of the funds are essentially worthless, while another is worth 9 percent of its value at the end of April, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press. In March, the High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leveraged fund was worth about $638 million -- and now has no value. The larger and less-leveraged High-Grade Structured Credit fund lost 91 percent of its value. It was worth about $925 million in March. (AP)

Microsoft Corp., whose Xbox 360 video-game machine has lagged behind Nintendo Co.'s Wii in sales, said vice president Peter Moore will leave to become president of sports titles at Electronic Arts Inc. Moore will be replaced by Don Mattrick, former president of game studios at Electronic Arts, said Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices unit. Mattrick has been advising Microsoft on a part-time basis for the past six months. (Bloomberg)

Dutch chemicals company Basell and Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Co. said they will combine in a $12.1 billion deal to create one of the world's largest chemical companies. Just last week, Basell walked away from a $5.6 billion deal to buy chemicals maker Huntsman Corp. after it was outbid by nearly $1 billion by private equity firm Apollo Management LP. Some analysts speculated that deal fell apart because Basell was looking at Lyondell. Lyondell shares shot up more than 17 percent to close at a 52-week high of $47.05, gaining $6.93. Basell said it would pay $48 per share in cash for Lyondell, a 20 percent premium to Lyondell's closing share price Monday. The companies pegged the total value of the deal, including debt, at $19 billion. (AP)

US automakers failed to improve the mileage of their vehicle fleets in response to the rising cost of fuel, a consumer group said. While average gasoline prices climbed 142 percent from 1998 to $2.72 this year, the number of car models offered by Detroit automakers getting at least 30 miles per gallon fell 24 percent, the Consumer Federation of America said. In the same period, the number of models getting less than 30 mpg rose 45 percent to 1,083, the report said. The study also examined mileage changes to popular models from 2005 to 2007. It found that fuel economy improved in two-thirds of vehicles made by Asia's biggest automakers -- Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Hyundai Motor Co. (Bloomberg)

Research In Motion Ltd. will start selling its first BlackBerry e-mail phone that works on both mobile-phone and wireless computer networks, mimicking Apple's iPhone. The BlackBerry 8820 also has a global positioning system and a video and music player, the company said. The BlackBerry 8820 will be available globally "in the coming weeks" and AT&T Inc. will offer the phone in the United States this summer, the company said. No pricing information was disclosed. (Bloomberg)

Units of Fresenius Medical Care AG, the word's biggest provider of kidney dialysis, were accused by the United States of fraudulently billing Medicare. The Justice Department joined a civil whistle-blower suit alleging two US units of the German-based company improperly charged the program for supplies and equipment for home dialysis patients. The case against Renal Care Group Inc. and Renal Care Group Supply Co. was filed in federal court in St. Louis. (Bloomberg)