Cisco rumored to be putting Linksys up for sale
The networking giant is said to be shedding more of its consumer businesses by asking Barclays to help it sell the home wireless-router company.
Cisco Systems is said to be in the works of selling off home wireless router-maker Linksys, according to Bloomberg.
Cisco has reportedly tapped financial services company Barclays to help it find a Linksys buyer. According to Bloomberg, the hope is that TV set makers may be interested in purchasing the company.
The networking-equipment maker bought Linksys for $500 million in 2003 as a way to facilitate its entry into the consumer networking market. Now, nearly 10 years later, it's looking like Cisco is trying to get out of this market.
Cisco has shuttered several of its consumer businesses the past couple of years, such as its Flip video business. It has also laid off thousands of employees with the end-goal of cutting about 14 percent of its global workforce, or around 11,500 employees.
The company has had poor luck moving into the consumer space and sales in its core businesses have slowed. While Cisco still dominates in the IP routing market, it has been more challenged in its Ethernet switching business at the hands of rivals such as Hewlett-Packard and Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei.
While it looks like Cisco is trying to exit consumer businesses, it is growing its software and technology services. It acquired the Wi-Fi and cloud-networking start-up Meraki last month as a way to "cloudify" its software-focused products and simplify IT operations.
CNET contacted Cisco for comment on a possible Linksys sale. We'll update the story when we get more information.