Watchmaker Fossil Group this week revealed that it is selling some smartwatch technology it is currently developing to Google. The transaction is valued at $40 million (about CA$53 million). It will see Google acquire both new smartwatch intellectual property and and a portion of Fossil’s R&D team. Greg McKelvey, EVP and chief strategy and digital officer of the Fossil Group, provided little […]
Mergers and acquisitions
Chanel acquires stake in Kenissi Manufacture
Chanel is kicking off 2019 with the acquisition of a 20% stake in Switzerland-based movement manufacturer Kenissi Manufacture. The news came as the company published its earnings for the first time in its more than 100 year history. Chanel provided few details about its plans but the move clearly suggests that it is looking to strengthen its luxury watchmaking business […]
Fitbit acquires smartwatch maker Vector Watch
The smartwatch market is going through rough times. Plummeting sales have hurt a number of manufacturers. It has also proven to be an opportunity for some other players. Just last month, Fitbit acquired Pebble in a bid “to accelerate the expansion of our platform and ecosystem to make Fitbit a vital part of daily life for a wider set of consumers.” […]
Fitbit acquires assets from Pebble
Fitbit today confirmed rumours that started to swirl last week that it will acquire some of Pebble’s assets. It announced that is acquiring “specific assets” that include key personnel and intellectual property related to software and firmware development. As reported earlier, hardware is not part of the deal. “With basic wearables getting smarter and smartwatches adding health and fitness capabilities, we see […]
Pebble Time 2 and Core to be cancelled as Fitbit acquisition looms
Rumours emerged last week that Fitbit was looking to acquire struggling smartwatch company Pebble. A new report yesterday shed new details. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg suggests that the buyout will focus on Pebble’s software assets. The deal reportedly includes job offers for about 40 percent of Pebble’s staff, mostly software engineers. Pebble staff in other roles, such as interface designer […]
Nokia completes Withings acquisition
Nokia today announced that its acquisition of Withings has closed “earlier than had been expected.” It had first announced its intention to acquire the French company back in late April in a bid to accelerate its entry into the wearables space. With the Withings acquisition, Nokia has established a new Digital Health business unit. It will bring together employees from Nokia Technologies’s preventive […]
Citizen Watch acquires Frederique Constant group
Japan’s Citizen Watch Co. today announced that it will acquire Swiss-based Frédérique Constant Group. The acquisition covers not only the Frédérique Constant brand but also the Alpina and DeMonaco ones. “We have a great opportunity to expand the sales of Frederique Constant through our current distribution channels of Citizen branded watches, particularly in Japan and the U.S.” said Citizen Watch Co., Ltd CEO Toshio […]
Fitbit acquires Coin wearables payment platform
Future Fitbit wearables may not only track your health and fitness but also allow you to easily make mobile payments. The company today announced that it has acquired Coin’s wearable payment assets. These include key personnel and intellectual property specific to the wearables payment platform. “We are focused on making wearable devices that motivate people to reach their health and fitness goals, and that also make their lives easier with […]