Facebook is said to end bid to buy map start-up Waze for $1 billion - Los Angeles Times
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Facebook is said to end bid to buy map start-up Waze for $1 billion

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Facebook and Waze have reportedly ended talks on a possible $1-billion acquisition of the mapping start-up by the social-networking giant.

Negotiations on a deal dissolved after the companies couldn’t agree on whether the Waze team, which is based in Israel, would move to Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., AllThingsD reported.

Waze relies in part on its users to gather real-time data on driving conditions. When users report car accidents, construction work or heavy traffic, Waze uses that information to reroute drivers around such obstacles.

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Waze gained popularity last fall after Apple launched its own map app with the release of iOS 6 in September, removing Google Maps as a default app on the iPhone. But Apple Maps struggled to gain traction and it took months for Google to launch a new app for the iPhone. In the meantime, many users turned to Waze and have continued with the app ever since.

Rumors of a takeover of Waze by Facebook began in early May, and last week reports surfaced that Google was also interested in acquiring the company.

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It’s unclear where any discussions between Waze and Google may stand, now that Facebook appears to be out of the picture.

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