Fitbit closes in on acquiring smartwatch maker Pebble

Fitbit is close to acquiring Pebble, the pioneering smartwatch maker that lately has run into cash problems, according to sources close to the talks.

Fitbit — whose fitness trackers have suffered from flagging demand this year, pounding its stock — is in “advanced talks” to acquire Pebble for between $34 million and $40 million, according to a source briefed on the negotiations.

That’s a steep markdown from earlier acquisition talks for Pebble, including last year when watch giant Citizen had been in negotiations to buy the struggling firm for as much as $740 million, according to Techcrunch.

Earlier this year, Pebble likewise had turned down a $70 million offer from Intel, according to reports.

Since then, however, Pebble has struggled financially, with founder and Chief Executive Eric Migicovsky forced to lay off 25 percent of the company’s workforce in March.

If the Fitbit deal goes through, Pebble’s brand will likely be shut down — a move likely to gall the company’s small but cult-like following.

In 2012 — more than two years before the Apple Watch was launched — Pebble became a sensation on crowdfunding site Kickstarter, raising an unprecedented $10 million in funds for its “e-paper” smartwatch.

Unlike Fitbit, Pebble’s operating system also supports an array of third-party apps.

Nevertheless, Pebble’s devices now account for 3.2 percent of the smartwatch market, according to IDC — which is about half the share they boasted a year earlier.

That retreat comes as the wearables category has weathered a brutal slowdown that reportedly has sent rival Jawbone hunting for an acquirer as it grapples with cash problems of its own.

The Apple Watch has likewise disappointed investors, with its sales down 55 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to IDC.