Here, the mapping company owned by Audi, BMW and Daimler, plans to bring its products and services to China. The trio has partnered up with Chinese internet mammoth Tencent, digital map provider NavInfo and Singaporean investment firm GIC, who will acquire a 10 percent stake in Here, the digital mapping company which Nokia sold to Audi, BMW and Daimler-Benz for $3 billion last year.
In the initial round of bidding, Nokia failed to convince Uber, Baidu, Alibaba, Facebook and other tech companies to offer the asking price, a whooping $4 billion (£2.56 billion).
The price is not disclosed. The three German car makers will reduce their stakes equally to deliver the 10% stake.
NavInfo plans to launch high definition mapping and location services with Here for autonomous cars. It will also share its data, so the German company can launch its products in China. Tencent will then use Here’s improved offerings with its own apps and services both within the country and elsewhere around the globe.
[Source: Engadget]
