Audi, BMW and Daimler Near Deal to Buy Nokia Mapping Service



BN JM357 nokiah M 20150721112807

BERLIN�A group of German auto makers agreed to pay slightly more than �2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) for Nokia�s digital mapping service, prevailing over Silicon Valley bidders in a battle for a key enabling technology for self-driving cars.

German luxury car makers Audi, a unit of Volkswagen AG , Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG , and BMW AG have agreed in principle to purchase the telecommunications group�s digital mapping service Nokia Here, according to a person familiar with the situation.

If a deal is struck, which isn�t yet certain, the German auto makers plan to invite other automotive companies such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Renault SA, PSA Peugot Citro�n, Ford Motor Co. , Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. to invest in Nokia Here, two people familiar with the situation said.

�The goal has always been to run the service as an open platform for everyone,� one person said. �The final signing could take place in the next few days.�

Nokia Here generated more than half its �970 million in 2014 sales from the auto industry, and the rest from location-based services. The deal price might be less than Nokia hoped to achieve. Nokia built the business out of Navteq, a mapping service that it bought in 2008 for $8.1 billion.

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