Under Armour Snatches Up Health And Fitness Trackers Endomondo And MyFitnessPal

Endomondo, a social fitness network and publisher of mobile apps that allow users to track their workouts and challenge friends, and health tracker MyFitnessPal have been acquired by athletic apparel maker Under Armour, the company announced this afternoon.

Endomondo was bought for a purchase price of $85 million and MyFitnessPal was bought for $475 million. The companies had 20 million and 80 million users, respectively. 

The Endomondo deal was reported earlier today by several Danish news outlets, and is expected to be also be detailed by Under Armour on Wednesday as it reports its fourth-quarter earnings.

Copenhagen-based Endomondo was founded in 2007 by fitness enthusiasts Mette Lykke (CEO), Christian Birk, and Jakob Jønck, and grew its social fitness tracker app and network to around 10 million registered users by 2012. By 2013, the company reported passing 20 million users and reaching profitability.

The Endomondo app, which is available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry, is basically like having a personal trainer in your pocket, the company has touted, and is designed to track activity like walking, running, cycling and other distance sports. The app can connect with a number of devices and sensors to enhance the data it collects, including the Fitbit, for example. A social element comes into play when Endomondo users connect with friends and other community members on the app’s network, allowing them to receive motivation and encouragement with regard to their workouts.

Company co-founder Mette Lykke has, in the past, attributed the service’s user growth rate the strength of its social networking components, calling it a “key driver.”

To date, Endomondo had raised $8.2 million in outside funding from SEED Capital and other angels, according to Crunchbase.

Danish press has been tracking rumors of the acquisition since January, and was pointing to the buyer being an “international giant.”

Meanwhile, San Francisco-based MyFitnessPal, founded in 2005 by Albert Lee and Mike Lee, has 80 million users. It offers a utility for users who want to track their health and fitness goals, while also providing nutritional information for over five million foods and offering caloric data associated with hundreds of exercises. 80% of the service’s users are outside the U.S., which Under Armour says was advantageous for establishing an international presence for its “Connected Fitness” community, which now expands to 120 million users.

These international users were likely, in part, the result of MyFitnessPal’s expansion last year into Asia, with localized apps for China, Japan and Korea.

MyFitnessPal had $18 million in funding and was backed by Accel Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Both companies will continue to operate out of their respective headquarters for the time being.

The Endomondo acquisition completed in January 2015, and the MyFitnessPal deal will close in Q1 and will be funded via an expanded term loan and revolving credit facility combined with cash on hand.

These are not be the first tech company acquisitions by Under Armour – in 2013, the company bought MapMyFitness for $150 million in an effort to accelerate its plans to enter into the biometric measurement space. The company today now sells several “MapMyRun”-branded monitors and devices, and has been focused on creating a large connected fitness platform with 31 million users.

“Under Armour’s demonstrated global leadership in health and fitness innovation is greatly enhanced with the addition of Endomondo and MyFitnessPal, as we continue to redefine and elevate the Connected Fitness experience for millions of people around the world,” said Kevin Plank, Chairman and CEO of Under Armour in a release.

“Similar to MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal have established track records of unmatched equity, expertise and passion in the fitness and nutrition space, and they are ideal partners to enable Under Armour to provide data-driven, proactive solutions to help athletes of all levels lead healthier and more active lifestyles,” he noted.

Under Armour says now that the technologies offered by the two apps will be used to expand its Connected Fitness platform with more resources and features, including a a calorie counter, nutrition and exercise tracker.