Google Reportedly Finishing $1.1 Billion Deal to Acquire Waze

According to a report from Bloomberg, Google is set to purchase social mapping company Waze for $1.1 billion, with the announcement set possibly for tomorrow:

Google Inc. has agreed to acquire map-software provider Waze Inc. for about $1.1 billion, a person with knowledge of the deal said, seeking to keep competitors such as Facebook Inc. (FB) from eroding its lead in mobile-navigation programs.

The deal for Waze, based in Palo Alto, California, may be announced as early as tomorrow, said the person, who asked not to be named because the plans are private.

Earlier today, Israeli publication Globes noted a Google-Waze deal was imminent, but rather for a sum of $1.3 billion. Essentially the deal to purchase Waze would allow Google to ward off a competitor for its own maps service and inhibit Facebook from starting its own service; the latter reportedly put in an offer for Waze back in May for almost $1 billion.

Although Apple was also cited to be in talks to acquire Waze, CEO Tim Cook squashed the rumour at D:11 and stated the company did not bid for the social mapping company.

Google Maps is light years ahead of any other mapping service and iOS users found this out when Apple introduced its own Maps app with iOS 6 that paled in comparison to Google’s offering. Although Apple Maps does work better in some areas than most, it is unable to offer a consistent service to all of its users. If and when the deal goes through, let’s hope Google doesn’t ruin Waze.

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