Cisco plans to sell router division: report

Cisco is planning to sell home router company Linksys, a company it purchased for $500 million in 2003.

The computer network equipment maker has hired Barclays to find a buyer for the division, according to Bloomberg. Citing sources close to the situation, the publication says that a potential sale is likely to secure far less than what Cisco originally paid, as Linksys is a "mature business" with low profit margins. 

Linksys manufactures routers that provide access to Wi-Fi services, and which are designed for household use.

In order to try and push ahead with the sale, Cisco is reportedly using the services of Barclays, who is also assisting tech giant Google for its sale of the Motorola Home business, which sells equipment to players within the cable and television industry. 

Cisco, currently the world's largest manufacturer of computer networking equipment, has been shedding parts of its business that relate to consumers steadily over the past few years. In an effort to align the firm towards the enterprise, Cisco announced earlier this year that it would shut the door on its Flip pocket videocamera business, which was purchased for $590 million in 2009. In addition, the company said it planned to integrate its umi consumer videoconferencing product into the company's Business TelePresence product line as part of the realignment process.