Waze For months, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes over here to bring you what’s probably our most exciting new version yet…version 3.0 for iPhone! Photo Oct. 13, 2011,
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into
Google’s $1 billion acquisition of Waze, The Post has learned.
Regulators will examine Google’s June 11 purchase of the
Israel-based social mapping service, even though the deal “closed” earlier this
month, two sources close to the situation said.
Google believed it did not need to submit the deal for review
because Waze’s US revenue is less than $70 million.
Google is already a force in the digital mapping industry, and
Waze’s own CEO Noam Bardin once characterized his company as one of the only
competitive threats to its new owner.
In January, the FTC, under a commissioner who has since
resigned, closed a 20-month probe of Google’s search practices by allowing the
Mountain View, Calif., company to voluntarily remove restrictions on the use of
its online search advertising platform.
If the FTC concludes that Google must divest itself of Waze,
Google most likely would have to take the potential loss in re-selling the
company.
Apple, Facebook and Microsoft all have reportedly put in bids
for the mapping firm.
Waze has almost 50 million users who pool their data and share
real-time traffic updates.
The Post reported almost two weeks ago that a protracted
regulatory review was on the way.
While Google has said Waze will remain independent, any plans to
integrate the service with its own could be delayed during the probe.
Google and FTC spokesmen declined comment.
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