Sportswear giant Under Armour has made a major play into the fitness tracking sector, acquiring popular apps Endomondo and MyFitnessPal.

The deal, which saw Under Armour pay US$475m (€419m, £309m) for MyFitnessPal and US$85m (€75m, £55m) for Endomondo, means Under Armour has acquired an extra 100 million users and their fitness data – MyFitnessPal touts 80 million users and Endomondo has 20 million.

Added to the 31 million users Under Armour already has from its purchase of MapMyFitness, the move puts the company in a strong position within the fast-expanding health data market. Data from fitness tracking applications is seen as particularly valuable as readings are taken every day, and the recent arrivals of Apple and Microsoft to the fitness tracking market underlines the fact that there is serious potential for profit.

“By combining three of the best teams in the world of Connected Fitness, we are now extremely well-positioned to create an unrivalled experience for our consumer and a multitude of new opportunities to drive our core business," said Under Armour chair and CEO Kevin Plank in the company’s Q4 report.

"By combining a community of 120 million unique registered users, we are developing a digital ecosystem that provides us with unparalleled data and insight into making every athlete better."

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