TomTom Raises Tele Atlas Offer

TomTom has formally raised its buyout offer for digital mapmaker Tele Atlas, countering an offer from rival Garmin with a $4.2 billion bid of its own.

GPS maker TomTom has turned up the pressure in its efforts to acquire digital mapmaker Tele Atlas, saying it will increase its offer to €30 per share. The new offer represents a major increase over the €21.25 per share the company initially offered for Tele Atlas, and significantly tops the €24.50 per share bid made last week from rival Garmin.

The new bid values Tele Atlas at about €2.9 billion, or about $4.2 billion USD.

TomTom owns 28.3 percent of Tele Atlas, while Garmin owns about 5 percent of the company. Both companies depend on the digital mapmaker for the map and routing information used in their GPS hardware products, and both would like to move the mapping business in-house as they seek to convert from a hardware-based business to a subscription-driven service business. Tele Atlas is the only major digital mapmaker that the companies could take over: Nokia recently entered a deal to acquire Navteq, the only other major mapping company, for $8.1 billion.