Nokia will sell its HERE mapping and location service to a consortium of German carmakers ? including BMW, Daimler AG and Audi ? for ?2.8 billion ($3.07 billion).
The deal is expected to go through in the first quarter of 2016, the Finnish company announced on Monday. The future of Nokia?s HERE business has been subject to a great deal of speculation over the past several months.
One reason BMW, Daimler and Audi may have made the purchase is to compete with Google as it continues to develop self-driving cars. This same group of automakers has been repeatedly named as potential buyers of the mapping service, which is considered an important player in the future of the automotive industry. Other rumors stated that Uber, which relies on Google Maps, was considering an acquisition of HERE.
HERE employs about 6,000 workers in 200 offices ? whether the consortium will restructure HERE isn?t immediately clear. At the time of publishing, Nokia didn?t respond to FORBES? request for comment.
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