Rumor: Pebble watches are disappearing from the market

Wearables maker Fitbit is said to be on the verge of acquiring smartwatch manufacturer Pebble and then plans to take the Pebble watches off the market. Fitbit would pay around $40 million for the American smartwatch maker.

Fitbit would like to have Pebble mainly because of the company’s software and intellectual property, but the wearables maker would have no interest in keeping the Pebble watches on the market in the long term, Techcrunch reports in addition to an earlier article by The Information. Business newspaper The Financial Times has also heard that. Presumably, an acquisition would not affect the supply of Pebble Time 2 watches, which customers purchased through the Kickstarter promotion this summer. That delivery is expected to take place early next year.

It wouldn’t be the first time Pebble is in talks about a takeover, Techcrunch reports. Intel previously wanted to pay $70 million, while watchmaker Citizen would have paid $740 million for Pebble in 2015. In both cases, director Eric Michigovsky declined the offers.

Pebble already released the Pebble 2 this fall, the successor to its original watch that came on the market in 2013. In addition, the Pebble Time 2 and the small computer Core will be released in January. The American company would be in trouble and barely able to pay its debts, necessitating a takeover.