Audi, BMW and Daimler €2.8 billion acquisition of Here from Nokia

Overview:

• A consortium of German car manufacturers Audi, BMW and Daimler acquired digital mapping service, Here, from Nokia for €2.8 billion to secure technology for the production of driverless cars. 
• The three buyers negotiated a €900 million term loan and revolving credit facility through acquisition vehicle, There Acquisition, to partly finance the deal.
• After Nokia put Here up for sale in April 2015, the three competitors resolved to club together and buy the business - which they deem essential to creating driverless in-car navigation systems - for fear it could have been bought and licencensed at a prohibitive cost by a technology group.
• The three buyers paid around €2.5 billion for the business, in addition to accepting responsibility for €300 million of Here's debt.
• The Finnish company created Here after buying Navteq for €8.1 billion and merging the business with its own mapping service.

Ben Naylor - Editor