Facebook Considering Acquisition of Waze Navigation Start-Up for up to $1 Billion
Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of the decision makers at Facebook are in "advanced talks" to acquire Waze, an Israeli start-up that makes a social GPS application with turn-by-turn navigation for GPS-enabled smartphones. Apparently Facebook is really enamored with the app, as the price that's being floated around the web is anywhere from $800 million on up to a whopping $1 billion, the latter of which is the same Zuckerberg and company paid for Instagram.
News of the potential acquisition was first reported by Calcalist, a Hewbrew-language daily business newspaper published in Israel by the Yedioth Ahronoth Group. According to Calcalist, nothing is yet official, though negotiations are currently in the due diligence phase, which means the two sides have signed an agreement in principle on the sale.
Facebook isn't new to acquisitions in Israel. The social networking site purchased Face.com last year for $60 million, and in 2011 it scooped up Snaptu for $70 million.
Waze is a free mobile app that's available on Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices. The concept behind Waze is to build a community of drivers who share real-time traffic information and live road alerts. Waze then uses the information it gathers to provide users with the fastest route based not necessarily on distance, but road conditions as reported by other Waze users, rerouting during the commute if necessary.
News of the potential acquisition was first reported by Calcalist, a Hewbrew-language daily business newspaper published in Israel by the Yedioth Ahronoth Group. According to Calcalist, nothing is yet official, though negotiations are currently in the due diligence phase, which means the two sides have signed an agreement in principle on the sale.
Facebook isn't new to acquisitions in Israel. The social networking site purchased Face.com last year for $60 million, and in 2011 it scooped up Snaptu for $70 million.
Waze is a free mobile app that's available on Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices. The concept behind Waze is to build a community of drivers who share real-time traffic information and live road alerts. Waze then uses the information it gathers to provide users with the fastest route based not necessarily on distance, but road conditions as reported by other Waze users, rerouting during the commute if necessary.
