Logitech Ends Negotiations to Acquire Plantronics

(Reuters) – Logitech International SA (LOGN.S), a Swiss manufacturer of keyboards and webcams, announced Sunday that it had ended discussions on the acquisition of Plantronics Inc (PLT.N), American manufacturer of Bluetooth headphones and gaming headsets.

The announcement was made after Reuters reported on negotiations between Logitech and Plantronics last Friday. Logitech confirmed the talks on Sunday, but said that they were now over. Plantronics did not make any immediate comments.

Logitech and Plantronics were hoping to close the negotiations successfully this week, but Logitech's board of directors decided Sunday to pull out of the deal, according to people close to the case who requested anonymity to discuss confidential discussions.

Logitech has ended negotiations on price disagreements, according to one of the sources. Plantronics was looking to sell for more than $ 3 billion, two sources said. The market capitalization of Plantronics rose to about $ 2 billion at the end of trading on Friday.

The transaction would have been by far the largest acquisition of Logitech, in an effort to diversify its business beyond computer peripherals. This would have occurred as Logitech and Plantronics sought to reduce their manufacturing costs following the introduction of tariffs on imports from China to the United States.

The activities of Logitech and Plantronics have been put under pressure by the development of new offerings, not just by network gear manufacturers such as Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) but

large technology companies such as Microsoft Inc (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc, owner of Google (GOOGL.O).

Founded in 1981, Logitech tackles the decline in personal computer sales with a focus on consumer peripherals benefiting from the growth of cloud computing, such as gaming, music, smart home connectivity and video conferencing. The Lausanne company has a market capitalization of 5.6 billion dollars.

Last year, Logitech acquired ASTRO Gaming for $ 85 million in cash in order to grow in the video game industry.

Plantronics, based in Santa Cruz, California, manufactures unified communications systems, wireless headsets, conferencing systems, and some software that it sells to businesses and consumers.

Founded in 1961, the first products of Plantronics were lightweight helmets for airline pilots. He later became known for selling helmets to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including those worn by Neil Armstrong on his first moonwalk in 1969.

A sale of Plantronics would have occurred in the wake of last July's US $ 2 billion acquisition of the $ 2.5 billion Polycom Inc. videoconferencing equipment company.