Waze acquisition rumors continue to flow with the latest touching on Google. Those looking back may remember we heard talk of Apple acquiring Waze back in January and more recently, it was Facebook that was said to be working on a bid. Facebook picked up some attention at the time, which likely came as a result of the dollar amount — $1 billion. With that in mind, it looks like the latest Waze acquisition rumors are now connected to Google.
Those original Apple and Waze details were on the lighter side. They were also followed up with some information saying that a deal was not going to happen. There is some question as to the level of those talks, but either way, that seems to have been left in the past. At the present time it appears as if Waze is setting up a bidding war between Facebook and Google.
This round of Google details comes by way of a recent Bloomberg report, which is based on details from unnamed sources. According to the report, Waze is consider offers from multiple parties and are looking for more than $1 billion. The other side of this story touches on what could happen without the acquisition. It is being reported that Waze is also considering another round of venture capital financing in an effort to stay independent.
Otherwise, at the present time it was said that none of the bidders are close to finalizing a deal. Assuming an acquisition does go through, it should be interesting to see how Waze is used. Or more specifically, whether the app and services will remain as they are or if this will be a grab for users and technology. Speaking of users, Waze is said to have 40 million.
All things considered, this could be a decent grab for either Facebook or Google. In the case of Facebook, well, adding those millions of users to the data collection mix could be a positive thing. On the flip side, Waze and the data they collect could mean good things for those using Navigation from Google. Of course, this could also be Google trying to keep others from gaining an edge in the navigation market.
VIA: SlashGear
SOURCE: Bloomberg
