Fossil may bring activity tracking to more watches with its $260 million purchase of Misfit

Fossil, your favorite watch maufacturer from the early 2000’s, has purchased smart wearables manufacturer Misfit for $260 million.

Best known for its wrist-worn activity trackers, Misfit is also behind the Beddit sleep tracker. Fossil previously partnered with Intel on smart wearables.

Fossil expects the deal to close before the end of fiscal year 2015. Misfit CEO Sonny Vu will act as president and chief technology officer of connected devices for Fossil, and will sit on the company’s executive leadership team.

What this all means for consumers is unknown, but it seems we’ll soon have mid-range watches with some fitness tracking capabilities. Fossil says it wants to “scale Misfit’s technology across Fossil, Skagen and a targeted portion of its portfolio of 16 brands in 2016.”

➤ Fossil to acquire wearable technology innovator Misfit [Fossil]