Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion with development centre in Minsk

Google parent company Alphabet will buy Fitbit with a development office in Minsk for $2.1 billion, CNBC.com reports.

 The deal is expected to close in 2020, according to the announcement. Minsk office has refrained from commentary.
“By working closely with Fitbit’s team of experts, and bringing together the best AI, software and hardware, we can help spur innovation in wearables and build products to benefit even more people around the world,” Google’s hardware chief Rick Osterloh wrote in his post.
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On Monday, Fitbit’s stock surged more than 30% on news that Alphabet had made an offer to acquire the smartwatch maker. As of Monday’s close, Fitbit’s market cap sat at $1.5 billion, up $340 million from the previous trading day.
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The deal is be beneficial to both parties. The acquisition pits Google against fellow tech giant Apple in the wearable fitness tracking space, while for Fotbit, it provide support in dealing with competition and growth slowdown.
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As of the end of 2018, Apple owned about half of the global smartwatch market in terms of units shipped, according to Strategy Analytics. Google currently licenses its operating system to companies such as Fossil but doesn’t make its own smartwatch.
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Fitbit, Inc. is an American company with the development office in Minsk. Its products are activity trackers, wireless-enabled wearable technology. Today Fitbit has more than 1470 employees, 70 of whom work in Minsk.
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Fitbit will become the second Minsk team in Google after Aimatter, which the IT giant acquired in 2016.