Alabit, the parent company of US Internet services and technology company Google, has agreed to buy the smart watchmaker Fitbit for $ 2.1 billion, the company said Monday.
The move will boost the ISP´s presence in the equipment market, while increasing the chances that the deal will be subject to antitrust inspection.
Fitbit rose 16% Friday on the news.
Google will pay $ 7.35 per share for San Francisco-based Fitbit, 71% more than Fitbit´s stock price before the deal was disclosed on October 28, Bloomberg News reported. The deal will be the second acquisition by Google this year after it agreed to buy cloud computing software company Locker in June for $ 2.6 billion.
Bloomberg noted that the acquisition of Fitbit will attract the attention of US regulatory authorities, where federal and California authorities are already investigating whether Google violates anti-competitive rules in exploiting user data and activities in the digital advertising market.
Although Google is not a major player in the smart watch market or smart devices to monitor users ´physical condition, authorities aim to know how Google has used Fitbit´s user data collected over the years, including data on users´ location and health.
The two companies are addressing these potential concerns by emphasizing a commitment to transparency about what data Google will collect and why. The firm commitment to protecting users´ privacy and data security has been part of the Fitbit entity since its first day.
