Consumer electronics company Logitech is reportedly planning to acquire Santa Cruz, California-based company Plantronics for $2.2 billion, according to Reuters’ sources. Plantronics is known for building Bluetooth earpieces and gaming headsets.
This would be Logitech’s largest acquisition thus far if the deal goes through. And the deal would enable Logitech to diversify its product offerings.
With this acquisition, Logitech could start selling wireless headphones that compete with brands like Sony, Bose, and Apple’s Beats brand. Logitech and Plantronics have a mutual goal of bringing down manufacturing costs after the introduction of tariffs on imports from China into the United States.
This deal could be announced as early as next week, but it may be possible that an agreement is not reached. Plantronics’ market cap as of Friday was nearly $2 billion. Siris Capital Group LLC owns 16% of Plantronics, which makes the private equity company the largest shareholder.
Photo: A pair of Plantronics’ headphones / Credit: Plantronics’ Facebook Page
Logitech and Plantronics have been actively acquiring companies in the last year. For example, Logitech bought ASTRO Gaming for $85 million in cash last year. And Logitech also bought a microphone company called Blue Microphone earlier this year for $117 million. In July, Plantronics announced the $2 billion acquisition of US-based video conferencing equipment maker Polycom Inc.
Plantronics was originally founded in 1961. Some of the company’s first products were headsets for airline pilots. And the company also sold headsets to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) such as the ones that were worn by Neil Armstrong during the first moonwalk in 1969.
