Cisco Eyeing Flip Maker, Pure Digital

Cisco Systems, long known for routers and switches, is trying to increase its footprint by expanding into consumer markets. And it is doing so by acquiring a lot of companies. In the past, it snapped up Linksys and KISS, and now there are rumors that the company could buy Pure Digital, the company behind the hot-selling Flip video cameras, according to TechCrunch.

The report pegs the acquisition price at $500 million for the San Francisco-based startup that has raised about $68 million over its 7-year lifespan. The deal is almost done, a Silicon Valley insider told us. We are looking for more confirmations and additional details about the rumored transaction. As with most M&A deals, it isn’t over till ink dries on the paper.

In January this year, Cisco CEO John Chambers said that the San Jose, Calif.-based company was ready to start buying again. At the time, Chambers said that a good acquisition for Cisco would be company that has 100 people and a product consumers are lining up to buy. The company recently raised $4 billion from the debt market, which points to smaller, more focused acquisitions that might need cash. Pure Digital would certainly fit that description.

In November, Deloitte ranked Pure Digital fifth on its list of fastest-growing companies in North America. Earlier that same month, Pure released an HD version of its popular portable video camera (see it in action here).