By Lisa Kerner
Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 1 - Nokia Corp. agreed to acquire Navteq Corp. for $78 cash per share in a deal valued at about $7.7 billion net of Navteq's existing cash balance. Both companies' boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is slated to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Nokia plans to finance the acquisition with a combination of cash and debt and has secured a debt commitment.
"Location based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia's internet services strategy," Nokia president and chief executive officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a company news release. "The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space."
Navteq president and CEO Judson Green added, "Nokia's unique vision for location based services aligns perfectly with Navteq's vision to enable everyone to find their way to people, places and opportunities on mobile communications devices, cars, desktop computers and in all the other places that are important to them."
Once the merger is complete, Navteq's current map data business will continue to operate independently, but as a Nokia Group company, the release stated. Green will report directly to Kallasvuo.
Chicago-based Navteq provides digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. Navteq also owns Traffic.com.
More than 900 million people use Nokia's mobile devices. The company is based in Espoo, Finland.
| Acquirer: | Nokia Corp.
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| Target: | Navteq Corp.
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| Transaction total: | $7.7 billion
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| Price per share: | $78.00
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| Announcement date: | Oct. 1
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| Expected closing: | First quarter 2008
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| Stock price for target: | NYSE: NVT: $77.97 on Sept. 28
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