Facebook No Longer In Talks To Acquire Waze, Neither Is Apple

Earlier this month, we heard reports of Facebook approaching social mapping app Waze, with an acquisition offer of roughly $1 billion. But today’s report by AllThingsD seems to indicate that after months of negotiations, Facebook is no longer in the run to acquire the popular navigation startup, who has been approached by other tech giants as well, including Google.

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According to the source, the negotiations between the two companies failed primarily due to conflicts over whether or not the Israel based Waze team would move over to the US and settle at Facebook’s headquarters in California. It is believed that buying a popular mapping service could have been another way for Facebook to push into mobile, complementing its widely poplar photo and messaging apps.

“Waze was built as a social application “from the ground up” — a philosophy Facebook especially espouses — rather than as a mapping application with a social layer slapped atop it. In essence, it fit with Facebook’s vision of a social service. So it wouldn’t be impossible for the two companies to figure out terms that make sense for both sides.”

Previously, there have been speculations of Apple being in talks to acquire Waze, in order to improve its own mapping app. However, Tim Cook has publicly stated at the D11: All Things Digital conference that Apple did not make a bid to acquire Waze.

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