US consumer electronics company Belkin could soon be in the hands of well-known Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn if a deal announced today gains approval.

According to the Financial Times, Foxconn subsidiary FIT Hong Teng will acquire Belkin for $866 million in cash. As part of the deal, FIT will benefit not only from Belkin's existing business, but also over 700 patents as well as gaining control of the Linksys, Wemo, and Phyn brands.

Belkin is best known for its connectivity devices. If you need a hub, charger, cable, dock, or peripherals, chances are Belkin will have a product that fits the bill. Add to that Linksys home and business networking solutions and Wemo's smart devices, and you have a company well placed to cater to our ever-more gadget dominated world.

Once the acquisition is complete, FIT intends to turn Belkin into a smart home-focused business, mainly through Linksys and Wemo products. In the Belkin press release, FIT CEO Sidney Lu explained that by, "Integrating Belkin's best-in-class capabilities and solutions into FIT, we expect to enrich our portfolio of premium consumer products and accelerate our penetration into the smart home."

Those 700+ patents will also help the company expand the products it offers while protecting itself from competitors. Chester J. Pipkin, founder and current CEO of Belkin, will become chief executive of whatever this new business ends up being called. Keeping the Belkin name seems like an obvious choice, though.

As far as FIT and Belkin are concerned, the deal is done, but in reality there's one big hurdle still to overcome. The acquisition requires the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. President Trump doesn't look too kindly on US companies being bought, and this deal will be no exception due to the potential loss of talent and patents.