3Com Plans $345-Million IPO for Palm Unit

3Com Corp.’s Palm Inc. unit expects to raise as much as $345 million when it sells shares in an initial public offering slated for Feb. 28. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of the popular Palm hand-held computing devices said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would sell 23 million shares for $14 to $16 a piece. 3Com said it would have 570 million shares outstanding after the sale, which is taking place at the same time it sells shares to America Online, Nokia and Motorola. If the company sells its shares at $15 a share, Palm would have a market value of about $8.55 billion. Palm plans to trade with the ticker symbol PALM on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. are handling the sale.