According to business newspaper, Calcalist, the largest social networking site, Facebook, was reported on Thursday to be in early discussion with Israeli's renowned mobile satellite navigation application, Waze. It was further reported that Facebook was offering an estimated US$800 million to US$1 billion for the acquisition.
The negotiations started six months ago with the parties having already signed a term sheet and are still reviewing fine points of the acquisition. Unless Waze President Uri Levine and Chief Executive Officer Noam Bardin can persuade Facebook to retain the Research and Development facility of Waze in Israel, the deal may not push through. Facebook is actually planning to incorporate Waze with its present facilities abroad.
Back in March 2010, in an interview of Forbes with Bardin, he related that Waze started as a means for drivers to report on their traffic situation by using their smart phones. In October 2012, Facebook and Waze worked together for the first time when Waze introduced to the market its latest version which allowed users to share their travel with their friends in Facebook.
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