Earlier this month NAVTEQ announced that they were purchasing Traffic.com. Price tag on the deal is $179 million a mix of cash and stock.
From the press release:
“Our focus is on enhancing our map with content that brings the map to life and increases the utility and convenience of navigation devices. We have long believed in the value of traffic data and this acquisition is a natural and logical progression for NAVTEQ,” said Judson Green, President and CEO of NAVTEQ. “Traffic.com brings a stream of high-quality, proprietary traffic content and a unique technology platform for the delivery of this and potentially other content. Combined, the two companies have the potential to create and deliver advanced dynamic content that will fuel the next generation of location-enabled applications.”
NAVTEQ has fully baked Traffic.com data into their content offering. Was this a protective move to ensure they have control of traffic content going forward (Traffic.com was 50% off the IPO price at the time of this deal)? Or, was it a competitive move? There are other data sources for Traffic on the market. Was this the best use of funds? The PR also says that Traffic.com is a "critical data component". Is the witness leading the jury?
Comments