Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs, Takeovers and Special Situations Hotline – Friday, October 18, 2019

Article Excerpt

FITBIT INC., $3.86, symbol FIT on New York, makes and sells wearable devices that track the user’s fitness, including daily steps taken and calories burned, as well as their sleep duration and quality. Fitbit first sold shares to the public at $20 each and began trading on New York on June 18, 2015. On September 20, 2019, the company hired investment bank Qatalyst Partners to explore Fitbit’s possible sale. Qatalyst Partners believes Fitbit could receive several offers from larger companies such as Alphabet, the parent of Google, or possibly private equity firms. In the three months ended June 29, 2019, overall revenue rose 4.8%, to $313.6 million from $299.3 million a year earlier. Revenues were higher due to stronger fitness tracker sales, which were only partly offset by weak sales from its Fitbit Versa Lite smartwatch. In the latest quarter, excluding one-time items, the company lost $35.8 million, or $0.14 a share. That’s compared to a loss of $54.2 million, or $0.22 a share. Fitbit…