Concerns Over Foxconn Belkin Deal Big IOT Play Coming

Foxconn who are a key partner with Apple and already own Sharp is set to be a key player in the home automation market with the company yesterday snapping up Belkin who is seen as yet another US Company that has caught the attention of the Chinese.

the move is set to make Belkin a major player in the IOT market with the Company now having the financial clout as well as a big technology shareholder.

Both Foxconn and Belkin are key Apple partners, Foxconn makes the Apple Macs and iPhones and Belkin accessories such as their recent iPhone charger.

What is set to emerge from the relationship is additional devices that control Sharp TV’s and appliances as well as control devices that will take on Google with their Nest brand and Apple in the home automation or IOT market.

the combined Companies could end up making devices for Apple in this market claim analysts. In the US many observers see it yet another US tech Company being snapped up by a “Chinese” linked Company.

FIT chief Sidney Lu, meanwhile, said the takeover would “enrich our portfolio of premium consumer products and accelerate our penetration into the smart home.” Belkin also brings with it around 700 patents.

Fortune claims that the purchase will likely require the scrutiny of the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), which recently hit the headlines by stalling Broadcom’s unsolicited bid for Qualcomm until President Donald Trump outright nixed that deal.

As a Taiwanese company, Foxconn may have direct links to China—and this is a sensitive time for Chinese companies in the tech space trying to move into the U.S.—but it is also trying to set up display-manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, where it’s promising to create at least 13,000 jobs. However, the new facility in Wisconsin’s Racine County is proving controversial, due to the fact that the state would pay Foxconn up to $3 billion in taxpayer money, tied to the number of jobs it creates.

Foxconn, whose formal appellation is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, will pay $866 million for Belkin, they will also get, Belkin’s management team, R&D capabilities and retail reach, in an all-cash deal.

A definitive agreement was signed by both parties that still has to be approved by US authorities.

The acquisition, which would follow Foxconn’s $3.5 billion majority move into Sharp two years ago, will further bring the behind-the-scenes business into the tech industry’s consumer-facing forefront, while giving it some added skin in the smart-home sector.

Belkin, in turn, will benefit from its new parent’s deep pockets, which will further fuel R&D, engineering and overseas expansion.

In a statement, Belkin founder/CEO Chet Pipkin said his company will also leverage Foxconn’s world-class manufacturing capabilities to enhance operating efficiency and competitiveness, allowing it “to take our brand portfolio … to new heights.”

Under the plan Belkin CEO Chet Pipkin and his management team will continue to lead the Belkin, which will continue to operate as a FIT subsidiary.