Computer peripherals company Logitech, which has premises in Cork, is rumoured to be the target of a Microsoft takeover with talks of a US$9bn bid for the company currently estimated to be worth roughly US$6.3bn.
Although both companies are officially keeping silent about the rumoured deal, Logitech’s co-founder and board-member Daniel Borel told Reuters he was not interested in selling the company to Microsoft but that as a 6pc shareholder he had no power over this.
Unlike other companies that usually fit into the takeover category, Logitech is not an up-and-coming fledgling firm nor is it an old established one in financial trouble or stagnation.
Logitech, with its headquarters in Switzerland, is the world’s largest seller of keyboards and a market leader in PC mice. It saw strong retail growth in the Americas at 17pc in the first financial quarter of 2008.
However, retail growth had declined by 1pc in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) region, traced back to declining sales of webcams. Yet the firm’s keyboards and audio equipment have maintained healthy growth, especially the audio segment with the need for iPod and other MP3 player-related speaker systems.
Despite rumours only being rumours, as Borel has said, these have had a knock-on effect, helping Logitech’s share prices rise by 12pc.
Borel insisted the company is in healthy financial shape and has strong plans for the future – not traditionally the sound of a company ready to be bought over by the world’s largest software firm.
By Marie Boran
