GOOGLE TO BUY FITBIT FOR $2.1 BN

WASHINGTON: Google has agreed to buy smartwatch maker Fitbit Inc for $2.1 billion in cash, a move that could shore up the internet giant’s hardware business while also potentially increasing antitrust scrutiny. Google will pay $7.35 a share for San Francisco-based Fitbit, according to a statement Friday. The acquisition is Google’s second major purchase this year, after it paid $2.6 billion for Looker.

NEW YORK: Alphabet Inc.’s Google agreed to buy smartwatch maker Fitbit Inc. for $2.1 billion in cash, a move that could shore up the internet giant’s hardware business while also potentially increasing antitrust scrutiny. Fitbit shares jumped 16%. Google will pay $7.35 a share for San Francisco-based Fitbit, according to a statement Friday. That represents a 71% premium to Fitbit’s stock price before Reuters reported Google had made a bid on the company on October 28. The acquisition is Google’s second major purchase this year, after it agreed to pay $2.6 billion for cloud software provider Looker in June. The deal is sure to attract regulatory scrutiny. State and federal authorities are investigating Google for potential anticompetitive practices related to how it handles consumer data and operates in the digital-advertising market. Though Google isn’t a leader in smartwatches or fitness trackers, regulators in the US and elsewhere will likely have questions about what Google intends to do with the data Fitbit users have shared over the years, including intimate health and location information. The companies addressed the likely concerns by pledging to be transparent about the data Google collects and why.