After Selling its Mobile Unit, Nokia is Now Seeking Buyers for its Maps Business
Nokia, the Finnish equipment maker who recently sold its mobile business unit to Microsoft, is reportedly considering selling its maps business HERE. The move reflects its plan to boost the company’s core wireless network unit and push up the shares rating.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is in talks with potential buyers such as Uber Technologies and a number of private-equity firms, as stated by people familiar with the matter. The source revealed that some German carmakers have reached Nokia for the same and will bid for its maps service, expected to take place as soon as this month.
As per the source, Nokia has hired a finance adviser to explore the sale of the maps business. The official financial reports suggest that HERE (Nokia’s Map Business) is 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) worth, while Inderes Equity Research made different estimations about its current price. “We have estimated that HERE’s value is around EUR 3.3-4.8 billion, and in a possible deal the price should be more than that,” stated the research firm on Twitter.
If we evaluate Nokia’s mapping assets with the official report as a base, its value has seen a steep fall since its buyout in 2008, which cost the company a hefty $8.1 billion. The company might drop the plan to sell out its unit if they don’t get a price deemed sufficient.
Nokia’s HERE unit provides data to many tech and e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, along with some renowned names in the car manufacturing business. The maps division reported a net sale of 970 million euros and an operating loss of 1.24 billion euros, as per the report. In January, the company made public the Q4 results of its net income and sale, which were 443 million euros and 3.8 billion euros respectively.
Nokia presently holds three divisions; first one is the maps units, the other is research and development that licenses its patents, and the third one is the networks division that makes 90 percent of the total revenue.
Meanwhile, Nokia spokesperson has declined to comment on the report and there is no official word on the news. But it would be interesting to see if Nokia sells out its second major unit and becomes an entity focusing solely on network services.
