There have been a number of recent hints recently that Nokia was looking to enter the wearables space. The company today confirmed these rumours with the announcement that it was acquiring wearable company Withings for €170 million (about US$191 or CA$242 million). Nokia expects that the move will allow it to “lead the next wave of innovation in digital health.” “We have said consistently that […]
Mergers and acquisitions
ASICS to acquire FitnessKeeper, Runkeeper app developer
Athletic apparel companies are quickly moving into the fitness tracking app and wearable markets. UnderArmour buying up both Endomondo and MapMyFitness (and partnering last year with HTC) and Adidas buying Runtastic are but two recent examples. The latest to make a similar move is ASICS which announced today that it was acquiring FitnessKeeper, the company behind the fitness tracking app Runkeeper. With the addition […]
Fossil to acquire Misfit for US$260 million
Texas-based Fossil recently unveiled its line of Fossil Q wearables. Its parent company, Fossil Group, today announced that it will acquire Misfit, the company behind the Misfit Shine and Shine 2 activity trackers and other fashionable wearables, for US$260 million (about CA$345 million). The acquisition provides Fossil not only with Misfit’s current products but also those currently in development along with a scalable cloud and app […]
Google looking to acquire stake in LG?
Park this one clearly in the wild rumours category! The Korea Herald reports that Google is looking to acquire a stake in LG. It is reportedly ready to spend KRW 2.5 trillion (about US$2.2 billion or C$2.8 billion) for a 35% stake in the company, part of a larger South Korean conglomerate. Such a move would make Google the company’s largest stakeholder […]
Intel acquires Canadian wearables company Recon Instruments
With the PC market in the doldrums, Intel has increasingly turned to wearables as a new market for its processors and chipsets. It is also getting more involved with wearables themselves. Following last year’s acquisition of Basis Science which offers a wrist-worn fitness tracker and new partnerships with companies such as Luxottica group, Oakley and Tag Heuer, it yesterday announced […]
BlackBerry acquisition rumours resurface with multiple interested parties
Rumours suggesting that BlackBerry would be acquired are nothing new. They have surfaced a number of times over the past few years, particularly as the company struggled to turn its fortunes around as device sales floundered. They quieted down as the company has been steadily turning things around but have now resurfaced with a number of parties once again reportedly […]
Fitbit acquires FitStar personal fitness app
Fitbit late yesterday announced that it has acquired FitStar, a personal fitness app. We’re thrilled to announce that Fitbit has acquired FitStar, one of the largest platforms for delivering personalized video-based exercise experiences on mobile devices! You may know of FitStar from their top-rated personal trainer and yoga apps, which offer tailored exercise program designed specifically for you. FitStar has also partnered […]
Alibaba invests US$590 million in smartphone manufacturer Meizu
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba today announced that it is investing US$590 million in Meizu, a Chinese smartphone maker that is quickly making a name for itself in that market. In exchange for an unspecified minority stake, Alibaba gains a smartphone ally that will adopt its YunOS, a forked version of Android. “The investment in Meizu represents a significant expansion of the Alibaba Group […]