Garmin Makes Move For TeleAtlas

GPS maker Garmin revealed its plans for countering moves by TomTom and Nokia into the digital mapping business, bidding $3.3 billion for TeleAtlas. The move comes three months after TomTom, Garmin's chief rival in the PND market, announced plans to purchase TeleAtlas for $2.8 billion.

Currently, Garmin gets almost all of its digital maps from NAVTEQ. Garmin Chief Financial Officer Kevin Rauckman told Business Week that Nokia's acquisition of the it's chief supplier "... could have potentially ended up being a difficult and awkward situation." The stakes in this bidding war are huge. The firm that fails to purchase TeleAtlas will find itself depending upon its competitors for its maps.

See also: Nokia + NAVTEQ = Trouble for Garmin?
Nokia to Purchase NAVTEQ