Fitbit reportedly acquiring smartwatch maker Pebble

Smartwatch pioneer and multi-million dollar gem of crowdfunding website Kickstarter, Pebble forayed into the wearable market in 2012 with the Pebble e-ink smartwatch. Now according to a report from The Information and Financial Times, popular fitness brand Fitbit is close to buying Pebble. 

This was also confirmed by the Verge. The deal is said to be in closing stages and will soon be locked, the report adds citing people close to the deal.

That's not all, after the deal is closed, the Pebble brand will be reportedly phased out and all its intellectual property including their software platform, Pebble OS will be owned by Fitbit. The report citing sources close to the matter, says Fitbit's acquisition is taking place for a relatively "small amount" between $34 and $40 million, despite having successful Kickstarter campaigns.

It's worth mentioning that before the launch of Pebble 2, Intel offered $70 million to buy Pebble, but the offer was refused. Back in 2015, Citizen also showed its interest to buy Pebble for $270 million, but the deal was rejected by Pebble's CEO Eric Migicovsky.

The deal comes at a time when both Pebble and Fitbit are facing declining sales in wearables market. Overall, the wearable market is seeing a decline this year. Brand like Jawbone, once Fitbit's biggest rival has been struggling in recent months, whereas, Microsoft axed its health tracker Band two months ago. Apple and various Android Wear smartwatch manufacturer also saw decline in sales as well. 

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