“TomTom NV, the Dutch supplier of navigation applications for Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5, rose the most in eight weeks after an analyst at Rabobank International said the U.S. company may make a takeover bid,” Maaike Noordhuis reports for Bloomberg.
“TomTom closed 5.65 percent higher at 4.06 euros in Amsterdam, the biggest jump since Oct. 15,” Noordhuis reports. “There’s a 30 percent chance that Cupertino, California- based Apple will seek a purchase because the Dutch software maker has the capacity to make speedy changes to correct any mapping errors or create new functions, Hans Slob, an Utrecht, Netherlands-based analyst at Rabobank, said in today in a research report.”
“‘TomTom needs the cash from Apple, and Apple needs the know-how of TomTom,’ said Slob, who estimated Apple would pay a price of as much as 10 euros per share,” Noordhuis reports. “A takeover is also a ‘royal way out’ for the Dutch company’s founders, said Slob, who has a buy recommendation on TomTom and raised his share- price estimate by 38 percent to 5 euros.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
TomTom more than willing to help Apple fix iOS 6 Map app problems – September 21, 2012
TomTom shares surge on Apple deal – June 12, 2012
Analyst: Apple unlikely to bid on TomTom – June 12, 2009
TomTom shares pop amid talk of Apple buy-in – June 12, 2009
Apple’s maps are made of maps, provided by tens of mapping companies from around the world.
There is no point for Apple to own a mapping company, when it gets all of the data by a license anyway.
TomTom prepared for that day years ago. They bought TeleAtlas, the map maker, in 2008 and in the subsequent years made sure to integrate TeleAtlas and TomTom together (project Rubicon) so that if a company wanted their map business, they’d need to buy the whole company.
Apple still have to use *tens* of map providers besides TomTom. So buying just one does not solve anything in an entirety at all.
They could very well “buy” data from different sources and attempt to build their own global database. One that they could maintain themselves. Having to rely on outside entities to make corrections is not a position Apple wants to be stuck in.
Maps will never be solved in their entirety. However, a TomTom acquisition would certainly help a huge deal. I wouldn’t mind this acquisition.
Not 31%, not 25% but 30% chance of a takeover.
It’s the people Apple wants.
Apple shd tag beta alongside the maps app and create a web access of the maps application from any device which will help them gain lot of information. I could never understand why they don’t have web browser access to their maps just like Google or Nokia. More information they gain will go a long way in improving the maps application on iOS. Hopefully with some recent happenings at the management level things are going to get better. Hopefully sooner.
“Rabobank”
So close, but for the position of two vowels.
None of this makes sense to me. TomTom generates money in 3 ways – selling GPS units, selling GPS apps, selling GPS data. I wouldn’t think Apple has an interested in selling stand along GPS units (unless they’re made from left over iPhone 3GS casings). They plan to give Maps away for free. And there’s got to be a cheaper solution for acquiring accurate data & programming expertise, without overpaying for a dying company.