Garmin Announces an Agreement to Purchase Navigon

Navigon, makers of one of the best turn-by-turn GPS apps for the iPhone has announced today Garmin has signed an agreement to acquire Navigon. The company will operate as a subsidiary of Garmin. I think this agreement will definitely benefit customers as both parties do GPS navigation pretty well.

Schaffhausen, Switzerland and Hamburg, Germany /June 14, 2011/Business Wire — “This acquisition is a great complement to Garmin’s existing automotive and mobile business. Navigon has invested significantly in the European automotive OEM business, and we feel that we can rapidly expand our automotive OEM footprint and capabilities through this transaction,” said Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and COO. “With Navigon, we are also acquiring one of the top-selling navigation applications for the iPhone and Android platforms – something that we expect will help drive revenue for the combined company going forward. Combining Navigon’s and Garmin’s strength also improves our competitiveness and standing particularly in Europe.”

Navigon is headquartered in Germany. In addition to its automotive OEM and navigation application for smartphones, the company has an estimated seven percent share in portable navigation devices (PNDs) in Europe. As regards PNDs, Navigon’s products are known for their compelling design, performance, and innovative software features.

“We look forward to sharing expertise, technologies, and relationships between Navigon and Garmin in order to serve more customers, expand product offerings, and lead the market in hardware and software innovation,” said Egon Minar, CEO of Navigon. “Our two companies each bring complementary strengths to the table, but what we share is a passion for customer satisfaction through innovation.”

Navigon will operate as a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction will not be released.

Are you using Navigon on your iPhone? I’m looking forward to see what both of these companies can conjure up.