Waze turned down Apple acquistion offer, report claims
updated 04:30 pm EST, Fri January 4, 2013
'Elements of truth' to all reports
Apple and Waze did in fact talk about a possible buyout, but Waze turned Apple down, Next Web sources say. Recently TechCrunch claimed that Apple was offering a total of $500 million for an acquisition, but that Waze was holding out for $750 million. The site quickly reversed course, saying that no serious talks had occurred.
Next Web's sources observe that while Waze was valued at $200 million during its last funding round, current investors were aiming for a higher price with Apple, closer to $1 billion. The sources add that more than one acquisition offer has come through in the past year, but that Waze has said no in every case, hoping to build a bigger company before it considers turning anything over.
In recent months the company has allegedly had many closed-door meetings about its future, discussing prospects such as growth, increasing revenue, and possibly shooting for a stock offering. The company is still trying to settle on a workable business model; a licensing deal with Apple, in fact, has been some of the company's most secure income to date. Some Waze mapping data is featured in iOS 6 Maps.
