Audi, BMW and Mercedes have teamed up to bid for Nokia's mapping unit HERE. The car companies have to work together to match bids from technology firms such as Uber.
HERE is a high-definition mapping unit vital to the delivery of autonomous driving and connected car services. It provides a premium service not found with rivals such as Google maps. By linking to a mobile phone signal, HERE can tell which side of the road a person is waiting and route the navigation system accordingly. For self-driving cars, it could adjust journey times in conjunction with real time traffic information; to take the fastest route and arrive sooner, or take a longer route and allow the vehicle occupants to catch up on work in the car.
Nokia acquired HERE in 2007 and is now looking to sell off the service to concentrate on the telecoms business. Investment banking advisory firm Evercore has been retained to test the market for buyers and solicit bids.
The car companies could pay around €700 million each to match HERE's book value, sources close to the deal have said. Taxi service Uber has put in a rival bid worth €2.7 billion according to the New York Times.
Anything else?
The automotive firms represent HERE's largest customers; they are keen to block any rival bids to secure future access to the service.
Daimler's Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber told German daily Handelsblatt in comments published on Friday: "We are watching the situation closely. High-definition maps are a prerequisite for autonomous driving."