Facebook in Talks to Buy Mobile-Driving App Waze - Wall Street Journal

Facebook Inc. is in talks to acquire mobile-driving application Waze in a deal that could be worth as much as $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. While these people characterized the discussions as serious, a deal may still fall apart, they cautioned. Waze, which has offices in Israel and Palo Alto, Calif., is a crowd-sourced, ad-supported driving application with close to 50 million users. Calcalist, an Israel-based publication, earlier reported news of the discussions. If Facebook acquires Waze, the transaction would represent one of the Menlo Park, Calif., company's largest acquisitions. Last year, the social network purchased Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing app, in a cash-and-stock deal that was ultimately valued north of $700 million. Facebook has since acquired other mobile-centric start-ups such as Parse, a developer app. For Facebook, Waze represents an opportunity to expand its mobile expertise and acquire a valuable asset in the mapping space. Waze, which is free, offers users driving directions based on input from other members, such as tips on traffic jams or car accidents. It also functions as a social network, as users can leave messages for other drivers, exchange comments on posts and coordinates their drives with friends. Over the past year, Facebook and Waze have grown closer. Last fall, Waze announced an integration with Facebook to allow users to log in to the service through their Facebook account. Waze Chief Executive Noam Bardin is also friends with Josh Williams, the former chief of location-based social network Gowalla, who now leads Facebook's local efforts. On his Facebook page, Mr. Bardin recently praised Facebook Home, the social network's new Android application, and posted a promotion photo of the application that prominently displayed the Waze app icon. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGj4XbjPBThPIJ06FOoI2ezl1KrjA&url=http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-229175/

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