Back in May, Uber submitted a bid, believed to be worth around $3 billion, for Nokia's HERE mapping platform. However, it appears that the bid from the global ride service is no longer being considered by the Finnish firm.
Following the sale of its devices and services business to Microsoft last year, Nokia has continued to restructure its operations as it prepares for an acquisition of its own. The company is now focusing more heavily on network infrastructure - with a particular interest in 5G development - and in April, it announced a $16.6 billion takeover of Alcatel-Lucent.
To help finance this purchase, Nokia is obviously keen to get a good price for the HERE business - and that seems to be a key factor in the apparent failure of Uber's bid. According to The New York Times, Nokia wants 'at least $4 billion' - a good deal more than the bid submitted by Uber.
The report goes on to state that a consortium of German car makers appears to have emerged as Nokia's preferred bidder, and that several other potential buyers have since dropped out of the bidding process. The automotive coalition includes Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which already use HERE mapping services in their cars' navigation and entertainment systems.
Nokia may not make a decision on that bid until August, and if it fails, Uber - and others that have since withdrawn their bids - might still have a chance to go after HERE again.
Still, if Uber is indeed out of the race, it still has other means to pursue its mapping ambitions. Last month, Uber acquired Bing mapping technology from Microsoft, along with a transfer of 100 employees from the tech giant.
Source: The New York Times
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