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.