> Industrial News > News   Navteq Buys MapSolute for $40 Million   Digital map supplier Navteq Corp today said in a regulatory filing it has acquired MapSolute GmbH, a Germany-based developer of geographical software, for about US$40 million. Headquartered in Frankfurt, MapSolute has 95 employees and offices in France, the United Kingdom, Finland, Dubai and Saudi Arabia as well as subsidiaries in the United States and Brazil. MapSolute was essentially running two businesses: one is a consumer mapping portal: www.map24.com, which offers mapping, directions and local search and has monthly visitors worldwide of five million. The other is a business to business activity using MapTP, the mapping technology which underlies Map24 and has been integrated in fleet management systems, tracking products, traffic information applications and online mobile devices. Kelly Smith, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Navteq said “We are going to support the map24.com portal.” Comment: Navteq claims that it buys MapSolute just for the mapping tools and technologies, and not as part of its strategic planning. The navigation map providers have been finding a more and more prominent position in the market. The value and importance of map providers are best revealed through a series of industrial quakes, such as Garmin’s competition with TomTom for Tele Atlas and Nokia’s acquisition of Navteq.   Time:2007-12-18 Source:NaviForum Shanghai News Center Relative