Netherlands-based Rabobank analyst Hans Slob says that Apple could acquire TomTom, one of its main partners that provides data for its much maligned iOS 6 Maps app. Bloomberg reports that the analyst believes there is a 30% chance Apple will try to takeover TomTom in order to make quicker improvements to its navigation and mapping app.
TomTom NV (TOM2), the Dutch supplier of navigation applications for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone 5, rose the most in almost eight weeks after an analyst at Rabobank International said the U.S. company may make a takeover bid.
“TomTom needs the cash from Apple, and Apple needs the know-how of TomTom,” said Slob. He estimates that Apple would pay a price of as much as 10 euros per share for the supplier. Such a takeover would also be a “royal way out” for the Dutch company’s founders. Slob has a buy recommendation on TomTom, raising his share price estimate by 38% to 5 euros.
TomTom rose 7.2%, an eight-week high, to 4.12 euros today, its current value is estimated at approximately 906 million euros. ($1.18 billion USD.)
