Nokia has reportedly reached a deal with a consortium featuring Daimler, BMW and Audi to sell its HERE mapping/navigation software unit for $2.72 billion.
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A joint purchase would be an unusual move for the German companies, which are battling for the lead in the global luxury- auto market.
Representatives for the carmakers and a spokesman for Espoo, Finland-based Nokia declined to comment.
It might sound like a insane idea, but the big German luxury automakers may be teaming up to buy some serious tech from Nokia.
Shares in Nokia fell 2 percent in late afternoon trading in Helsinki to 6.21 euros.
AP BMW is among carmakers keen to buy HERE. Other companies that had been rumored to be involved in the bidding for HERE included Uber and several Chinese companies.
The sale would complete Nokias transformation into a provider of wireless-network equipment, after its exit from mobile phones in 2014. (The Journal notes that Here now works with about 80 percent of auto industry customers as well, beating out Google, which is developing its own high-profile line of autonomous cars, and Dutch mapping service TomTom.) The mapping data is seen as critical to car manufacturers in the coming years, as self-driving vehicles become licensed for use on city streets.
The company agreed to buy rival network maker Alcatel-Lucent for 15.6 billion euros ($16.9 billion) in April to better compete with Huawei Technologies and Ericsson.
The Bloomberg report noted that the car makers are likely willing to strike a deal with Nokia to keep driver data out of the hands of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), a leader in mapping as well as search (and a company that has been testing self-driving vehicles).
While digital maps have gained users, Nokia’s foray into the business didn’t live up to expectations.
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-With assistance from Elco van Groningen in Amsterdam.
