The US is likely to extend a probe into a proposed buy-out of 3Com by a consortium that includes Chinese firm Huawei Technologies, the Financial Times reported. The investigation is likely to be extended by 45 days this week, a step that is rarely taken. The probe is looking at the national security issues surrounding the takeover of 3Com, a US-listed network equipment company, by a group led by Bain Capital, a US private equity firm. Bain wants to buy 83.5% of 3Com, with Huawei taking the rest. The deal has a national security dimension because 3Com supplies technology to the US defense department. American politicians have increased pressure to stop the deal with Thaddeus McCotter, chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Republican policy committee, describing it as a "stealth assault." Bain has opposed claims that the deal involves US national security.