Pebble, once the darling of the Kickstarter community, announced that it is shutting down as a result of a sale. Fitness device manufacturer Fitbit is acquiring Pebble for an undisclosed amount.

Late in November, rumors started to surface claiming that Fitbit is in negotiations with Pebble for a possible buyout. Speculations surfaced that Fitbit is will be paying between $34 million and $40 million to acquire Pebble, although some in the tech community said that it is not enough to cover Pebble's debts.

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In a statement posted on the company's blog, Pebble chief executive officer Eric Migicovsky wrote "We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices. While dissolving Pebble as you know today is difficult, I am happy to announce that many members of Team Pebble will be joining the Fitbit family to continue their work on wearable software platforms."

Along with some of its employees, important technology, software, and intellectual property owned by Pebble will also be transferred to Fitbit as part of the acquisition. According to Quartz, Pebble was able to sell more than two million devices since its inception in 2009.

Pebble is considered as one of the early pioneers of the smart wearable market. The company is known for setting several Kickstarter crowdfunding records.

Many market analysts have long predicted Pebble's fate. In March, the company laid off a quarter of its staff due to losses. Some analysts said that while Pebble made significant traction in the crowdfunding world, the company failed to raise investments outside of this ecosystem.

TagsFitBit, smartwatch, Pebble, Pebble Smartwatch, pebble acquisition, fitbit acquisition