Intel has agreed to the purchase of Israeli mobile navigation company Telmap, according to its chief executive. When quizzed yesterday, Telmap CEO Oren Nissim declined to comment on the price, but he did say that the deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Israeli media believe Intel is paying around $300 to 350 million for the company.
The mobile navigation company has two plants and four development centers in Israel. They will retain their brand, existing management and all of its 210 employees, while becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the giant chip maker.
"The unique thing about this transaction is that here comes a giant and says 'We really like what you're doing, we believe in your strategy, we want to enhance and go forward. We're not here to swallow you up,'" Nissim told Reuters.
Intel hopes the acquisition of Telmap will enable them to offer consumers an alternative to services from established players like Nokia and Google. Looking to the longer term, Intel would like to see the company expand to cover a larger area, whether it is the U.S., Asia-Pacific or Europe.
Peter Riddle, general manager of Intel's AppUp developer program, during AppUp's annual gathering of developers in Seattle, said the deal was a step toward expanding Intel's mobile software services capabilities.
"Telmap delivers great multi-platform consumer experiences every day, and we're looking forward to combining that focus and excellence with Intel's to significantly grow their business," he wrote. He went on to say that Telmap's location-based services spanning devices, operating systems and CPU architectures would benefit developers massively.
Currently, Telmap offers location-based services to provide its users with information on traffic, speed cameras and local offerings, and expects to post revenues of $33 million for 2011, making profit for its second consecutive year.
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