Google may also be considering a Waze buyout

[Dave LeClair]

Recently, we heard that Facebook was deep in negotiations to purchase Waze for around $1 billion. According to a report from Bloomberg, it looks like Google might be throwing its name in the hat as a possible buyer. This could lead to a bidding war between the two giants, which of course, would be hugely beneficial for Waze as it could lead to a higher selling price.

The report cites "people familiar with the matter" saying that Waze is seeking more than $1 billion if it is to be acquired, or choose not to sell at all and remain independent. All these acquisition talks with Facebook's name in the middle naturally reminds us of the sudden Instagram buyout which closed for that cool $1 billion figure.

Apparently, Google is not the only company to approach Waze about a possible buyout as other large tech firms jumped into the mix when the Facebook talks went public, though none other proponents have been mentioned by name. It remains to be seen which firm, if any, ends up the proud owner. Should the company end up staying independent, it will likely seek venture funding to continue expanding its mapping services.

Waze currently has more than 40 million users, so it's not hard to see why large tech companies would be willing to shell out such a huge amount of money for it. The free service currently generates revenue via location-based advertisements, and a company like Google or Facebook would likely look to expand its monetization prospects should either acquire Waze.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52694-google-may-also-be-considering-a-waze-buyout.html

 

[Rasta211]

Waze it up Google!

 

[howzz1854]

Now this is a much better match.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Google has the resources for this compared to Facebook.

 

[Guest]

What's a WAZE? A wave that you can't quite focus on?

For that matter, I know that a GOOGLE is an very large number, but what is a FACEBOOK?

 

[psycros]

What's a WAZE? A wave that you can't quite focus on?

For that matter, I know that a GOOGLE is an very large number, but what is a FACEBOOK?

Facebook is a massively intrusive web service that knows your public "face" and keeps it in a "book" which is read by spammers, crooks, government spies and perverts.

 

[learninmypc]

What's a WAZE? A wave that you can't quite focus on?

For that matter, I know that a GOOGLE is an very large number, but what is a FACEBOOK?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waze

 

[dennis777]

Waze will benefit more from google than FB. Google has more or less a complete map. Google can use waze turn by turn tech.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It could be a good acquisition if they integrated into their maps.

 

[Jamibi]

Recently started using Waze myself and would be hyped if Google bought it. Love to see what new features they'd implement and how the maps would evolve.

 

[RajeGera]

Waze would definitely be a good acquire for Google.Its immense with amazing features which would definitely help in grasping the big android user market.