Tom-Tom buys Teleatlas

Just thought I'd share this little nugget with you GPS fans out there.....

<< TomTom NV agreed to buy digital-mapping company Tele Atlas NV for about 2 billion euros ($2.77 billion) in cash.

“The takeover makes strategic sense,” Marcel Achterberg, an Amsterdam-based analyst at ING, wrote in a note. “TomTom is in a commoditized and maturing market and the vertical integration with one of the few leading map content providers opens up new opportunities and raises the barriers to entry.”

TomTom had revenue of 380 million euros and profit of 68 million euros in the second quarter, the company said in a separate statement today. The results beat analysts’ estimates. >>

Gecko says:
An interesting move by Tom-Tom to take over one of the only 2 large scale mapping companies in the market. Garmin uses Navtech predominantly but there is polarisation in the industry with European mapping generally seen to be better in Teleatlas whilst it seems US mapping is better in Navtech. I'm not sure I agree with this as I have a car system with Teleatlas and my little Garmin with Navtech seems to navigate more logically than the Teleatlas system in the car.

You would think this would make Garmin a little nervous, it would me.

Gecko said:

Just thought I'd share this little nugget with you GPS fans out there.....

<< TomTom NV agreed to buy digital-mapping company Tele Atlas NV for about 2 billion euros ($2.77 billion) in cash.

“The takeover makes strategic sense,” Marcel Achterberg, an Amsterdam-based analyst at ING, wrote in a note. “TomTom is in a commoditized and maturing market and the vertical integration with one of the few leading map content providers opens up new opportunities and raises the barriers to entry.”

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WTF does that marketing-shyte mean?

Al

Blackal said:

WTF does that marketing-shyte mean?

Al

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It means ... TomTom and sat nav devices will go down the road of PCs and pretty much all gadgets ... they will make less money per unit and harder to sell as anyone with a factory will be able to churn them out for less than a penny.

By buying one of two mapping companies that exist .. they can benefit from every unit sold .. even if it is not a tomtom. AND they can develop things for the TomTom that some cheapskate competitor won't be able to copy.