STICKING POINT: A consortium of Daimler, parent of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen's Audi division want outright ownership of all relevant patents owned by Nokia related to mapping, auto industry sources said.
FRANKFURT/BERLIN: Germany's premium car makers are close to a deal to buy Nokia's HERE map business for between €2.5bil and €3bil (RM10.36bil to RM12.44bil), but a final agreement hinges on the question of who owns the patents which help self-driving cars talk to mobile networks, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters.
The purchase of HERE, which has been valued at between €2bil (RM8.29bil) and €4bil (RM16.59bil), could also require multi-year pledges to make further investments to improve map data quality. The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of July, if the two sides can settle the intellectual property issues, the two sources familiar with the transaction said.
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