14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced with much fanfare last year that it reached an agreement to take over wearable device maker Fitbit, but the deal is now awaiting regulatory approval before completion.
And by the looks of things, everything is getting a lot more complicated especially in Europe, where the antitrust watchdog is looking into a series of concerns that Google would get access to Fitbit user data which could then be used for other purposes, including some that could violate competition laws.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the European Commission was projected to announce a decision by January 1, and some people close to the matter claimed that the deal could get the go-ahead a lot earlier than that, with October described as the month for the whole thing to happen.
But October is now over and the European competition regulator is yet to release any statements on this, which make many people wonder whether Google can still complete the Fitbit takeover this year.
The deal is still pending regulatory approval
As far as the search giant is concerned, nothing has changed, and Fitbit should become an Alphabet asset by the f the year. Though, of course, no specifics can be shared.
“We do still expect we are going to receive the necessary regulatory approvals to hopefully complete the transaction before the end of this year. But the time frame may extend beyond that,” Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat explained in a statement for Bloomberg.
For the time being, however, Fitbit continues with its usual business. The company has recently launched a new lineup of smartwatches, namely the Versa 3 and the Sense, both of which come with Google Assistant integration and new activity tracking capabilities, including an ECG feature.
A major software update that would enable several other features on these devices is expected in the coming weeks.