Belkin Agrees To Buy Linksys From Cisco

Belkin intends to maintain the Linksys brand and will offer support for Linksys products as part of this transaction, and 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 U.S. retail home and small business networking market. Per Belkin's own release on the matter: "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."
Neither company intends to talk price, but it's certainly an interesting transaction. Suddenly, Belkin and Linksys will be working as one -- which definitely makes us curious as to how that'll impact the competitive landscape.