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Dec. 1, 2016 / 11:44 AM

Fitbit to buy Pebble smartwatch company for $40M

Pebble Technology, the Redwood City, Calif.,-based company that designed the smartwatch seen in this image, was bought by Fitbit, the leader in wearable fitness technology, for up to $40 million. Both companies in the past year faced financial difficulties. Photo courtesy of Pebble Technology

Pebble Technology, the Redwood City, Calif.,-based company that designed the smartwatch seen in this image, was bought by Fitbit, the leader in wearable fitness technology, for up to $40 million. Both companies in the past year faced financial difficulties. Photo courtesy of Pebble Technology

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Fitbit, the troubled leader in wearable fitness technology, has bought smartwatch company Pebble Technology for up to $40 million.

The Information reported that Pebble has faced financial challenges over the past year since the company, based in Redwood City, Calif., raised more than $20 million in a KickStarter campaign, one of the most successful crowd-funding campaigns in history.

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In March, Pebble laid off about 25 percent of its workforce. On Wednesday, Fitbit closed stock trading at $8.36 -- about 60 percent below its Initial Public Offering price from June of 2015.

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky had hoped to negotiate a purchase price of $200 million. The agreed-upon purchase price barely allows Pebble to cover its debt, TechCrunch reported.

Fitbit plans to phase out Pebble's devices by focusing on the company's technologies and intellectual properties.

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