Foxconn to Buy Belkin and its Linksys, Wemo, Phyn Brands for $866 Million
Foxconn’s Interconnect Technology subsidiary will buy Belkin and its Linksys, Wemo and Phyn product brands for $866 million in cash under a “definitive agreement” signed and announced Monday. Belkin sees the acquisition as accelerating its “vision” of delivering accessories for…
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the “premium” smart home space, said CEO Chet Pipkin, who will remain in that post and will join Foxconn’s management team. “We see significant synergies” with Foxconn, including “leveraging its world-class manufacturing capability to enhance Belkin’s operating efficiency and competitiveness,” said Pipkin. “The transaction also grants us access to more resources to invest in our people and to aggressively pursue opportunities in the marketplace.” Foxconn recently completed a contract under which it would collect nearly $3 billion in cash credits from Wisconsin if it builds a huge LCD display fab in the state’s Racine area and hires a big workforce there to run the project (see 1711130014). Belkin declined comment Tuesday whether it worries that Foxconn’s proposed buy will trigger Trump administration pushback on the same national security grounds on which it quashed Broadcom’s hostile takeover of Qualcomm because of Broadcom's huge interests in China. Foxconn, though officially headquartered in Taiwan, is China’s largest private-sector employer. “At this time, the announcement serves as our official comment,” emailed Belkin spokeswoman Jen Warren. Foxconn didn’t comment, nor did representatives of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., on whose recommendation President Donald Trump signed the executive order blocking Broadcom/Qualcomm (see 1803120060).