U.S. intelligence agencies may scuttle Bain Capital’s $2.2 billion cash buyout of 3Com that was announced in September because of concerns about the role of Chinese minority investor Huawei Technologies, according to published reports Friday.

A report from the federal Office of the Director of National Intelligence called the deal a threat to national security, according to unnamed Bush administration intelligence officials quoted by The Washington Times.

In the wake of the report, shares of 3Com fell $.33, or 7.1 percent, to $4.31 in Friday afternoon trading.

Government officials fear that China could bolster its computer warfare capacities by gaining access to 3Com’s technology. The Marlborough, Massachusetts, company’s TippingPoint unit makes gear used by the Pentagon and other agencies to safeguard their computer networks. TippingPoint was slated to be spun off in an initial public offering, but after the buyout deal was announced, 3Com executives said Bain would make any decisions on TippingPoint.

In November 2003, 3Com formed a China-based joint venture with Huawei known as H3C Technologies. In November 2006, 3Com agreed to buy Huawei’s 49 percent stake for $882 million.

After taking control of the joint venture, Bain and other private equity firms approached 3Com in a series of due diligence meetings and merger proposals stretching for months until a final agreement on September 28. In September,  China denied published reports that its People's Liberation Army hacked into a Pentagon computer system in the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates.