The sale will see a portion of its research and development team currently working on the technology moving to Google.

The deal is expected to close in January, Fossil said.

Stacey Burr, vice president of product management at Google’s Wear OS said that the addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google proves its commitment to the wearables industry.

Fossil, which recently launched a new offering called ‘Sport’ that comes with Wear OS, said smartwatches have become its fastest growing category.

Greg McKelvey, Fossil’s chief strategy and digital officer, said: “Together with Google, our innovation partner, we’ll continue to unlock growth in wearables.”