Google offers concessions in fresh bid to win EU okay for Fitbit deal

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Alphabet unit Google has offered concessions for a second time in a bid to address EU antitrust regulators’ concerns about its bid for fitness tracker maker Fitbit , a European Commission filing showed on Tuesday.

The Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by Dec. 23, did not publish details of the concessions in line with its policy.

The EU competition enforcer will now seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more, or either clear or block the detail.

Last month, it rejected Google’s pledge not to use the fitness tracker’s data for advertising purposes in a bid to address competition concerns, saying that it was insufficient.

The Commission recently asked Google rivals and customers about interoperability issues, what technical steps the company could take to foreclose competition to Fitbit to increase its sales, and how incentives could prompt it to do so, according to a person familiar with the matter.

It also asked about issues related to digital healthcare and the kind of data Google needs and where they could acquire it, the person said, suggesting concessions may be needed in these two areas.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)