According to a report from The Information, Fitbit is buying smartwatch maker Pebble for a “small amount” of money. One source says Fitbit is paying between $34 and $40 million for the company and is “barely covering their debts.” TechCrunch reports: A source close to the company told TechCrunch that watch maker Citizen was interested in purchasing Pebble for $740 million in 2015. This deal failed and before the launch of the Pebble 2 Intel made an offer for $70 million. The CEO, Eric Migicovsky refused both offers. Pebble released the newest version of its smartwatch in October, but the past year or so has been a challenging period. It laid off 25 percent of its staff in March, while we reported last year that it was in some trouble and had turned to debt funding and loans, as well as traditional investor cash, “in order to stay afloat.” Earlier this year, Pebble CEO Migicovsky confirmed that his company had raised $28 million in debt and venture financing. He blamed a more cautious outlook from VCs focused on tech as the primary reason for letting 40 of Pebble’s staff go.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Fitbit Is Buying Smartwatch Maker Pebble For Around Million, Says Report
