Facebook reportedly was in talks to buy Fitbit before Google was
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Google just bought Fitbit today for $2.1 billion dollars, but apparently the search giant wasn’t the only tech company circling — Facebook was purportedly also in talks to buy the fitness tracking firm before Google, according to a report from The Information.
It’s not entirely clear what happened with Facebook’s talks, but it’s likely the money played a big part. According to The Information’s report, Facebook was offering Fitbit roughly half of what Google ended up paying, which seems to have swayed the decision in Google’s favor.
Facebook’s interest in Fitbit may seem odd at first, but it tracks with the company’s recent forays into hardware. Between its Oculus virtual reality...