While the navigation app HERE has been a pretty popular alternative to those who aren’t fond of Google Maps or Apple’s Maps, rumors are swirling about that its parent company Nokia is looking at selling off the business. The Finnish OEM has been in the red for sometime and they need the funds that will be gotten from the sale in order to reduce their debt and get away from their “junk status” rating.
According to insiders, the company wants to focus on its wireless-network unit rather than put any more effort into the navigation app. It is currently valued at $2.1 billion as per their financial reports and proceeds may be used to acquire other companies that can help build on their network business. This may include the long-rumored takeover of their rival, Alcatel-Lucent SA, a French tech company. Sebastien Sztabowicz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Paris, said that the sale of HERE can give credibility to their offer for the wireless access business of the French company.
Some of the companies that Nokia has reportedly reached out to include Uber, the popular car-booking app, a group of German carmakers, and several private-equity firms. But if they won’t receive a price that would be sufficient enough, they might decide to not sell at all. HERE reported sales of around $1 billion last year and is also looking at rising sales for the maps and patents division this 2015.
HERE actually provides data for several major tech businesses, like Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo and several car-navigation systems (four out of five apparently). Nokia still has three businesses left: the networks division (90% of total revenue), an R&D unit, and the aforementioned maps business. They sold off their phone unit to Microsoft. Nokia Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri is looking at taking steps to clear out the debts and boosting its credit rating, and this step may be the most viable one at this point.
VIA: Bloomberg
