Belkin already offers its own brand of home networking gear, but the company intends to maintain the Linksys brand and has pledged to honour warranties for current and future Linksys products. “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.” The buyout is expected to boost Belkin’s market share considerably. Belkin asserts it will account for 30 percent of the retail home and small business networking market in the US. Following finalisation of the sale, Cisco’s focus will predominantly be on business and enterprise products. Financial terms of the deal were not made public. The sale is expected to be finalised this March.
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