Rumor: Cisco May Consider Selling Linksys

There is a persistent rumor that Cisco has no more use for Linksys and is intending to sell it.

The rumors have become more intense since Cisco shut down the Flip division and finger-wagging analysts offered advice that Cisco should be focusing on its core business and enterprise customers rather than playing in the consumer field.

There is not much money to be made in the consumer networking business these days, but it is unlikely that Cisco will simply shut down Linksys - a company Cisco bought for $500 million in 2003. Linksys' product line has remained largely stagnant over the past few years and not evolved with the market. For example, products such as a NAS, are completely missing from the product portfolio, which make Linksys a rather unattractive acquisition target for traditional consumer networking companies.