Google buying Fitbit for $2.1B

Google announced Friday that it has reached a deal to acquire fitness tracking device company Fitbit for approximately $2.1 billion.

Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services, said in a press release the purchase is “an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.”

News of an offer for Fitbit from Alphabet, Google’s parent company, was first reported by Reuters earlier this week.

The deal is expected to be completed in 2020, according to a separate press release from Fitbit. The sale will require approval from Fitbit’s stockholders and regulators.

Google’s acquisition of the popular wearables company comes as the tech giant has struggled to break into the market with its Wear OS platform. With Fitbit, Google will now more directly compete with Apple, which has seen sustained success from its watches and Health app.

This is not the first fitness wearable company that Google has picked up recently. In January, the search giant bought smartwatch technology from Fossil for $40 million.