No Deal in Sight for Apple to Acquire Waze

[MacRumors]

Yesterday, TechCrunch reported that Apple was interested in purchasing Waze, the social turn-by-turn navigation company. According to the report, Apple was offering approximately $400 million plus an additional $100 million in incentives, but Waze was holding out for closer to $750 million.

TechCrunch's MG Siegler now reports that there is no deal in sight.

And while Mike Butcher also claimed multiple sources in his original post, you'll note that he was quick to qualify the information as a "rumor" (or in British parlance -- Mike is English -- a "rumour"). Because that's exactly what it was. This isn't a rumor (of a non-deal). There is no deal is happening. At least not now or anytime soon.

Siegler goes to note that Apple and Waze have in fact probably had low-level conversations about a closer partnership given that the two companies are already working together on Apple's mapping products, but he says that the talks are so far nothing more than the typical interactions seen between partner companies on a daily basis.

Article Link: No Deal in Sight for Apple to Acquire Waze

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

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Yesterday, TechCrunch reported that Apple was interested in purchasing Waze, the social turn-by-turn navigation company. According to the report, Apple was offering approximately $400 million plus an additional $100 million in incentives, but Waze was holding out for closer to $750 million.

TechCrunch's MG Siegler now reports that there is no deal in sight.Siegler goes to note that Apple and Waze have in fact probably had low-level conversations about a closer partnership given that the two companies are already working together on Apple's mapping products, but he says that the talks are so far nothing more than the typical interactions seen between partner companies on a daily basis.

Article Link: No Deal in Sight for Apple to Acquire Waze

In before someone says "WAZE is stupid. They should have sold out"

[nfl46]

I wonder how long its going to take Apple to get their maps on par. I guess we'll see "Maps 2" during the iOS 7 preview, with new features.

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by nfl46

I wonder how long its going to take Apple to get their maps on par. I guess we'll see "Maps 2" during the iOS 7 preview, with new features.

Apple, like Google, is constantly updating their maps. I'm sure you couldn't possibly think that all those maps are stored on your 16M iPhone. They're downloaded from the cloud as needed. You shouldn't need to update your iPhone software when the maps stored on the cloud are the problem.

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Originally Posted by newyorkone

Even $400 mil. is too much. Apple better not pull a Facebook like Instagram purchase. Apple should completely abandon the idea and then Waze will eventually fade away into nothing and be forgotten when they go out of business. $750 mil.!?! Idiots...

Like Groupon, I don't believe their business model includes a way of turning a real profit.

[nick_elt]

Originally Posted by JHankwitz

Apple, like Google, is constantly updating their maps. I'm sure you couldn't possibly think that all those maps are stored on your 16M iPhone. They're downloaded from the cloud as needed. You shouldn't need to update your iPhone software when the maps stored on the cloud are the problem.

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Like Groupon, I don't believe their business model includes a way of turning a real profit.

Trust me i've used groupon with my business, those pricks take a big cut.

[srxtr]

Originally Posted by samcraig

In before someone says "WAZE is stupid. They should have sold out"

WAZE is stupid. They should have sold out

[SPUY767]

Originally Posted by srxtr

WAZE is stupid. They should have sold out

Honestly though, do they think this is 1999?

[D.T.]

I wouldn't be surprised if this acquisition rumor came from someone at the Apple HQ saying to another employee , "Hey, have you ever used Waze?"

[HishamAkhtar]

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

[Elijen]

Originally Posted by HishamAkhtar

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

I doubt they could buy Google ... not even if it were for sale.

[WhoDaKat]

Originally Posted by Elijen

I doubt they could buy Google ... not even if it were for sale.

Not quite. Google has a market value of about $250 billion and Apple only has about $150 billion in cash.... of course that is a comparison of total market value to how much cash on hand a company has, so its pretty impressive.

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Originally Posted by nfl46

I wonder how long its going to take Apple to get their maps on par. I guess we'll see "Maps 2" during the iOS 7 preview, with new features.

Its being updated every day. Just recently I noticed a bunch of new POIs in Charlotte, NC.

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Originally Posted by samcraig

Or they won't sell. DropBox didn't.

Some companies enjoy being independent. The people that work there aren't looking to be absorbed by another big company. There are many factors to be considered.

When/if they sell, however - both parties will negotiate. So no party here is/was "stupid" for walking away at this point.

You have to admire people that can say no to quitting work and taking a billion dollars, so they can continue to get up and go to work every day. I would not be one of them. I'd much rather spend time with my family then hitting the office every day no matter what I was doing, especially if money was no longer a concern.

As an avid Apple fan though, I do wish both Dropbox and Waze would sell out! I think there is a huge benefit in buying Waze (for Apple) as it goes a long way towards looking like they are serious about fixing their maps reputation. Notice I said maps reputation not just maps. For 90% of us it works just fine. Apple may fix a hundred data points a day, but most will go un-noticed by the vast majority of us simply because we don't live in that area. Making big acquisitions makes a big public statement.

[dukebound85]

Originally Posted by Elijen

I doubt they could buy Google ... not even if it were for sale.

Funny thing about public companies, they don't have to be for sale to be bought

Granted, I doubt apple could afford buying google and is not in anyone's interest

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by Elijen

I doubt they (Apple) could buy Google ... not even if it were for sale.

The FTC probably wouldn't allow it.

[ps45]

Originally Posted by Elijen

I doubt they could buy Google ... not even if it were for sale.

You need to look for a new broker... Google is up for sale, it's for sale every day (NASDAQ: GOOG)

[basesloaded190]

Originally Posted by HishamAkhtar

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

Man I wish there was still a downvote button.

Why on earth would you think that would be a good or even possible idea??

[MuffCabbage]

Wonder how Microsoft feels about this, being a large investor and all

[Snide]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

Man I wish there was still a downvote button.

Me too! What happened to it??

[davidcmc]

Originally Posted by HishamAkhtar

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

Buy Google for 750 milions dollars?

Are you sure that Google costs only that?

[HishamAkhtar]

Originally Posted by davidcmc

Buy Google for 750 milions dollars?

Are you sure that Google costs only that?

Haha not 750 obviously.

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Originally Posted by basesloaded190

Man I wish there was still a downvote button.

Why on earth would you think that would be a good or even possible idea??

Sigh. They really need a sarcasm sign.

I was not being serious.

[HenryDJP]

Originally Posted by HishamAkhtar

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

Unless you were being sarcastic, it's not that simple. You can't just "buy" a company. Either the company has to be up for sale or said buyer has to do a hostile takeover which isn't easy if you don't have enough stock buying power.

[parseckadet]

How much of this is just trying to keep Waze out of someone else's hands, like Microsoft?

[nick_elt]

Originally Posted by HishamAkhtar

They could pay $750 million and buy Waze

...OR BUY GOOGLE and use their Maps?!

your joking right???

edit: i see you answered that one..

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Originally Posted by newyorkone

Stupid name (and logo), stupid app, stupid company. I had never even heard of them until this post. There are so many other options for this completely unoriginal app, business.

Even $400 mil. is too much. Apple better not pull a Facebook like Instagram purchase. Apple should completely abandon the idea and then Waze will eventually fade away into nothing and be forgotten when they go out of business. $750 mil.!?! Idiots...

I dont know about them either, so i cant tell if 400mil is too much or cheap. How do you know? i think your post was more stupid than their logo.

[newyorkone]

Originally Posted by nick_elt

I dont know about them either, so i cant tell if 400mil is too much or cheap. How do you know? i think your post was more stupid than their logo.

I know Waze is stupid because I have common sense. Unlike you. The original story explains what they are so you do know about them, and quite frankly, user generated data for GPS that requires user input is just a bad idea in every way. Drivers texting in speed traps, traffic jams, etc. will be worse than drunk drivers. Not exactly the kind of drivers that you want there to be more and more of, on the road, as this STUPID app gains popularity now that this story has come out.

You can read a good review and summary of why this app is such a bad idea here:

Waze, social-gps, should driving be a game?

"Waze encourages you to be a good social citizen by alerting other drivers of speeding traps, heavy traffic, road hazards, etc. The problem with this is that you become a road hazard if you’re driving and reporting a road hazard simultaneously. Texting while driving has been shown to have a greater impact on an individual than driving drunk."

Lastly, as for their valuation, they aren't even a household name like Instacrap and at least Instacrap was somewhat original. So that's why they aren't worth $750mil or even $400mil for such a poorly conceived app in a grossly over saturated GPS segment.

[SonomaFlyer]

Waze my yet "sell out" but their map is well reviewed and very popular and they know it. Why should they take what Apple offered when they are the "hot map app" at this point?

In the end, they'll likely get more than the $400m rumored price. Upwards of $600m isn't outside the bounds of reason. Apple is rather desperate to shore up their map program and we all know how much cash Apple has on hand (and overseas)=tens of billions of $$.

[samcraig]

Originally Posted by SonomaFlyer

Waze my yet "sell out" but their map is well reviewed and very popular and they know it. Why should they take what Apple offered when they are the "hot map app" at this point?

In the end, they'll likely get more than the $400m rumored price. Upwards of $600m isn't outside the bounds of reason. Apple is rather desperate to shore up their map program and we all know how much cash Apple has on hand (and overseas)=tens of billions of $$.

Or they won't sell. DropBox didn't.

Some companies enjoy being independent. The people that work there aren't looking to be absorbed by another big company. There are many factors to be considered.

When/if they sell, however - both parties will negotiate. So no party here is/was "stupid" for walking away at this point.