Belkin to acquire Cisco's Linksys

Belkin has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Cisco's home networking business unit, including its proven products, technology, well-known Linksys brand and talented employees.

"We're very excited about this announcement," said Chet Pipkin, CEO of Belkin.

"Our two organizations share many core beliefs - we have similar beginnings and share a passion for meeting the real needs of our customers through the strengths of an entrepreneurial culture. Belkin's ultimate goal is to be the global leader in the connected home and wireless networking space and this acquisition is an important step to realizing that vision," added Chet Pipkin.

Belkin intends to maintain the Linksys brand and will offer support for Linksys products as part of this transaction. All valid warranties will be honored by Belkin for current and future Linksys products.

After the transaction closes, Belkin will account for approximately 30 percent of the US retail home and small business networking market.

"At Belkin we have developed great insight into consumer needs, and the experiences, solutions and products we bring to the market, including our WeMo home automation platform, will help us to grow Linksys' market presence," Pipkin said.

"Linksys is one of the leading home networking providers and has created a market-leading suite of products and services to meet customer needs," said Hilton Romanski, VP corporate business development, Cisco.

While part of Cisco, Linksys has continuously innovated, while strengthening the brand and expanding its market leadership. As part of Cisco's commitment to service providers, we are pleased about this strategic relationship with Belkin to build on Linksys' position of strength added Hilton.

With complementary innovation and engineering strategies in the combined organization, Belkin will be able to create new opportunities for consumers, distribution partners and resellers, and will have the strongest retail presence in the U.S. networking marketplace added Pipkin.

Belkin and Cisco intend to develop a strategic relationship on a variety of initiatives including retail distribution, strategic marketing and products for the service provider market. Having access to Cisco's specialized software solutions across all of Belkin's product lines will bring a more seamless user experience for customers. Merging the innovation capabilities of Linksys and Belkin provides a powerful platform from which to develop the next generation of home networking technology.

Both the companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the transaction. The transaction is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in March 2013.