Cisco Acquires Home Networking Firm for $61M

Special To LTW

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Cisco is acquiring KiSS Technology, a home networking technology firm based in Denmark, for $61 million in cash and stock.

The acquisition was announced Friday morning.

KiSS will become part of Cisco’s Linksys division, which focuses on home and small business networking gear. KiSS focuses on networked home entertainment devices such as DVD players and DVD recorders.

``As more and more entertainment content is delivered over the Internet and as consumers demand access to digital entertainment inside and outside of their home networks, networked entertainment devices will become an integral part of Consumer Electronics,`` said Charles Giancarlo, who is Cisco’s chief technology officer and president of Linksys. ``KiSS has emerged as a leader in networked video and audio products in Europe and we hope to use that expertise to expand worldwide.``

Cisco cited statistics from In-Stat, a marketing research firm, showing the worldwide networked entertainment equipment produced $3.9 billion in revenue in 2004. In-Stat forecasts that market to grow to $16.1 billion by 2009 with 38 percent of homes utilizing home networks.