Fitbit Rumored To Be Going Public

According to Bloomberg News, consumer wearables leader Fitbit is working with Morgan Stanley for an initial public offering in the United States next year.

Representatives from both Fitbit and Morgan Stanley declined to comment about news of Fitbit going public, but sources are telling Bloomberg that the seven-year-old company tapped Morgan Stanley to lead the public offering. This would be an alternative to raising private funds, and an IPO for Fitbit could raise a speculated $150 million. The company would be one of the first in the wearable technology market to go public.

It seems Fitbit is taking advantage of the continuously growing fitness band market. Statistics show that fitness trackers will likely more than triple in number by 2018–over 70 million devices. More smartbands are coming to market, including the Apple Watch. Microsoft recently released Band, its own smartband. Jawbone’s UP wristbands are an established competitor of Fitbit’s already.

Fitbit Products.
Source: Fitbit.

For now, companies such as Fitbit and Jawbone will benefit from their low prices, according to analyst Chris Jones. However, the introduction of multi-purpose bands like the Apple Watch and Microsoft’s Band may be a threat.

Eric Friedman and James Park founded Fitbit in 2007. The company is based is San Francisco and offers a variety of wearable, wireless activity trackers. Prices for Fitbit’s wearables range from $59.95 to $249.95. Technology blog TechCrunch valued Fitbit at $300 million just last year, and the company has raised more than $50 million in investments from venture capitalists.

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