Fitbit acquires Pebble for $40 million

Fitbit has acquired software assets from Pebble. The deal is about Pebble's intellectual property in the form of OS, watch apps, and cloud services.

Additionally, Fitbit also hires Pebble's software engineers and testers. As much as 40% of Pebble's engineers have received job offers from Fitbit already. Those who don't will get severance packages.

The price Fitbit will pay for the assets is $40 million. Pebble's debt and obligations exceed that and the company will likely cover them with selling its product inventory and server equipment.

Pebble's woes come from a staggering decline in the smartwatch market with shipments marking a fall of 52% in Q3 of 2016 according to IDC stats. Pebble's devices will likely be discontinued after the acquisition.