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(Image source: Bloomberg)
BY SCOTT MALONE
It appears Google is driving full speed
ahead with a plan to purchase mobile mapping company Waze — but this new interest could
lead to a bidding war of the who's-who of tech giants.
Bloomberg cites several sources close to the matter, but those sources say Waze is seeking
more than $1 billion in any deal. This comes on the heels of Facebook's reported negotiations
with the mapping company.
Waze is a mobile application for getting directions and routing around traffic with the help of
other drivers, and it's used by more than 47 million people in 193 countries. (Via YouTube
/ Waze GPS)
Waze's reported suitors include Google, Facebook and Microsoft among others. But there's one
notable name that is apparently sitting this one out: Apple. Why? One analyst told Bloomberg
buyouts just aren't Apple's M.O.
"Rather than trying to solve the problem by going out and making a big acquisition ... They
seem to want to build this kind of functionality organically, in-house, and the problem is
that they stumble over themselves. They stumbled over themselves in cloud synchronization and
now they're stumbling over themselves with Apple Maps."
So if Apple wants to sort out its own map software, why does Google — which already
has a popular mapping app of its own — want to jump into the fray?
Industry experts point to the growing popularity of mobile devices, and as a result mapping
services are rising in importance too. A writer for ZDNet says Google's potential benefits
are twofold. (Via WWAY)
"If Google manages to secure the startup, not only will it keep Waze information, subscribers
and technology out of rival company hands, but real-time updates could become a valuable
addition to Google's popular Maps service."
Analysts also point out that Google buying Waze would keep Facebook out of the mobile
mapping melee.
But all bidding aside, TechCrunch reports Waze's own investors could be the major snag
in any acquisition thanks to "... questions about whether Waze would move fully to the
U.S. or keep [research and development] in Israel causing disagreements."