Google Confirms FTC Review of Waze Acquisition

Google has confirmed that the FTC has contacted the company to review its acquisition of Waze, reports the WSJ.

Google acquired the company in mid-June for $1.1 billion. Waze's income was too low to trigger an automatic review by the agency; however, it can choose to examine deals even after they've been closed.

Lawyers tell the Journal that it is unlikely the FTC will ask Google to unwind the deal; however, they may have asked Google not to integrate with Waze until its examination is complete.


The FTC would have to determine whether Waze would have become a head-to-head competitor with Google, whose Google Maps software is the dominant digital mapping and navigation service around the world, or whether there is any evidence, such as emails, that showed Google wanted to acquire the company only to keep it from rivals.

Other companies looking into the acquisition of Waze included Facebook, Apple, and possibly Microsoft.

You can download Waze from the App Store for free.

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