Facebook is in talks to buy Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze for $800m to $1bn, according to a news report.
Israeli business news publication Calcalist reported on Thursday that due diligence is already underway after a term sheet was signed.
Calcast cites sources close to the deal as saying that talks between the two firms began six months ago.
Waze uses satellite signals from members’ smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic info.
Officials at Waze declined to comment on the report.
Waze and Facebook partnered in October 2012 when Waze released its updated version that allows users to share their drive with their Facebook friends.
This would be Facebook’s third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.
In the last year, Waze tripled its user base to 45 million and in March alone, 1.5 million users downloaded the free mobile navigation app, Calcalist said.
Watch this video report from Bloomberg discussing the rumoured deal:
