Google acquires Fitbit for $2.1b


Reuters | Published: January 14, 2021 20:58:28 | Updated: January 16, 2021 18:28:55


FILE PHOTO: Fitbit Blaze watch is seen in front of a displayed Alphabet logo in this illustration picture taken November 8, 2019. REUTERS

Alphabet Inc’s Google has completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of wearable device maker Fitbit Inc, the companies said on Thursday.

The deal had triggered concerns over Google’s market power and the use of people’s health data in targeted advertising.

The companies won antitrust approval from the European Union in December after Google agreed to restrictions on how it will use customers’ health-related data.

“This deal has always been about devices, not data, and we’ve been clear since the beginning that we will protect Fitbit users’ privacy,” Google said in a blog post on Thursday.

Fitbit, once the leader in the wearable devices market, has lost market share to Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei in recent years.

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