Google to acquire fitness wearable company Fitbit for $2.1 billion

Google will officially acquire Fitbit for $2.1 billion USD ($2.8 billion CAD).

Reuters first reported earlier this week that Google was looking to purchase the fitness wearable company.

According to The Information, Facebook had its eye on buying Fitbit as well, although talks fell through when the social network put up “roughly half” of Google’s offer.

In a blog post, Google’s head of devices Rick Osterloh noted that the acquisition presents a significant opportunity for the company to continue to grow its smartwatch division.

“Google also remains committed to Wear OS and our ecosystem partners, and we plan to work closely with Fitbit to combine the best of our respective smartwatch and fitness tracker platforms,” wrote Osterloh.

For years, Google has struggled to make an impact with its Wear OS platform, with the Apple Watch continuing to dominate the market this year, according to analytics firm Canalys. That said, Fitbit held the second-most wearable market share, and this acquisition will now potentially help give Google a leg up in this area.

Osterloh also confirmed that Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads. Moreover, he noted that Google will give Fitbit users the option to “review, move, or delete their data.”

Back in February of 2017, Fitbit acquired Pebble’s core assets for just $23 million USD (roughly $30 million CAD).

Source: Google