Health and fitness wearables maker Fitbit is reportedly on the verge of acquiring smartwatch pioneer Pebble, the Financial Times reported, citing several people close to the negotiations.
If the deal is finalised, Fitbit will benefit from the intellectual property of Pebble, especially its software PebbleOS.
[READ: Fitbit leads global wearables market, Apple tops smartwatch sales in Q1 2016: IDC]
Fitbit may buy the smartwatch maker for just $34 to $40 million, an anonymous source told Engadget. It went on to say that Pebble owes at least $25 million as debt to suppliers, which means the deal amount is paltry.
Pebble was a known entity in smartwatch market a few years ago. It reportedly refused Citizen's offer to buy it for $740 million in 2015. However, its business took a nosedive and the company was forced to layoff 25 percent of its workforce earlier this year.
The smartwatch maker came into the wearable-technology market with its first smartwatch in 2012 before present major players like Apple and Samsung entered the field. It initially drew interest from several quarters but failed to sustain the appeal.
(Source: Financial Times/Engadget)
