FOSSIL Group in a statement announced it had entered into an agreement in which it would sell for $40million the intellectual property rights to a select smartwatch technology to Google. The transaction is expected to be finalized before January ends.

Fossil did not specify which technology it is giving up its rights to, but disclosed it is one which is being currently developed.

The company added a part of the deal calls for some of its research and development team currently supporting the transferring of IP to join Google. It would, however, retain more than 200 of its R&D team members to focus on innovation and product development.

The company added a part of the deal calls for some of its research and development team currently supporting the transferring of IP to join Google. It would, however, retain more than 200 of its R&D team members to focus on innovation and product development.

“The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go consumer,” said Stacey Burr, vice president of product management at Wear OS by Google.

Fossil noted the deal with Google “unlocks growth opportunities” for its wearables business, which in recent years has become its fastest growing category. The group has so far developed and launched smartwatches across 14 of its owned and licensed brands.

“We’ve built and advanced a technology that has the potential to improve upon our existing platform of smartwatches. Together with Google. . . we’ll continue to unlock growth in wearables,” said Greg McKelvey, executive vice president and chief strategy and digital officer at Fossil Group.