Google today has confirmed it has acquired Waze, after much speculation a deal was set to go through. As posted on the Google blog by Brian McClendon, Vice President, Geo:
We’ve all been there: stuck in traffic, frustrated that you chose the wrong route on the drive to work. But imagine if you could see real-time traffic updates from friends and fellow travelers ahead of you, calling out “fender bender…totally stuck in left lane!” and showing faster routes that others are taking.
To help you outsmart traffic, today we’re excited to announce we’ve closed the acquisition of Waze. This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work, every day.
The Waze product development team will remain in Israel and operate separately for now. We’re excited about the prospect of enhancing Google Maps with some of the traffic update features provided by Waze and enhancing Waze with Google’s search capabilities.
Google says it will work closely with Waze community to ensure they can continue to “grow and prosper,” and welcomes the Waze team to the company.
On Sunday multiple news outlets reported Google was finishing its acquisition of Waze, with the deal reported to be in the $1.1 to $1.3 billion range. Apple was rumoured to be in talks to buy Waze, but CEO Tim Cook clarified the company did not bid for the Israel-based startup at D11.
Update: AllThingsD says the deal was worth $1 billion in cash plus performance payouts and maybe stock options:
The deal was worth $1 billion in cash, plus $100 million in performance payouts in cash and possibly stock to the Waze staff, said people familiar with the deal.
