Economics
In the News
Google Acquires Fitbit
2nd November 2019
This is one of those mergers that I find hard to classify - is it a form of vertical integration, with Google becoming more customer facing, or is it akin to a conglomerate merger, as Google looks to diversify markets?
Either way, fitness device maker, Fitbit has been snapped up by Google for $2.1bn, however, many Fitbit users are likely to be concerned that Google has access to their fitness data. Another thought that occurs is that it seems increasingly likely that Google is going to diversify further into the digital health/fitness/medical markets in the years ahead. Fitbit has 28 million active users, but it has sold more than 100 million devices.
We can add Fitbit to the list of Google acquisitions over the years:
2019: Fitbit
- 2019: Looker
- 2017: HTC Pixel
- 2016: Apigee
- 2014: Skybox
- 2014: DeepMind
- 2014: Nest
- 2013: Waze
- 2011: Motorola M
- 2011: ITA
- 2009: AdMob
- 2007: DoubleClick
- 2006: YouTube
- 2005: Android
Follow the recommended tweets below for more background and comment.
Fitbit snapped up by Google in $2.1bn deal https://t.co/TR9PUmV5F3
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 1, 2019
Google has scooped up Fitbit. Now the question becomes whether it’s good for the personal health-tracking market that few wearable startups still exist, and that the power and control over our data lies in the hands of a few tech giants. https://t.co/tfNZUvWRtJ
— WIRED (@WIRED) November 2, 2019
Google has struck a $2.1bn deal to buy fitness-tracking pioneer Fitbit, as the two Silicon Valley companies team up to take on Apple’s fast-growing wearable-tech business https://t.co/1nsnLMqGOY
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) November 1, 2019
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