Rumors about Facebook trying to acquire Waze have been circulating for close to a year at this point. The rumors picked up steam earlier this month, followed by talks of a bidding war among Facebook, Google and other unspecified companies. Some have mentioned Apple as a suitor, as it has struggled with its own Maps offering.
According to reports, it looks like Google’s competition has been reduced. AllThingsD’s Mike Isaac reports that Facebook is no longer in talks to acquire the company, indicating that talks fell apart in part due to “conflicts over whether or not the Waze team – which is predominantly based in Israel – would move over to the United States and fold itself into Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, among other reasons.”
Neither company has commented on the situation.
Additionally, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the D11 conference that the company did not make a bid for Waze. Technically, that doesn’t exactly mean Apple is out of the discussion, but it does clear some up some notions.
Reports of Google’s interest in Waze haven’t exactly been confirmed, but Bloomberg reported last week that Google was in the mix. As previously mentioned, Google could be an attractive destination for a company in the mapping area, given the success of Google Maps, and the continued expansion of imagery and features. It could also prove to be a defensive move on Google’s part, keeping competitors from gaining ground against its popular Maps service.
Google recently unveiled new Maps experiences for desktop, mobile and tablet devices.