Garmin gives TomTom clear run at Tele Atlas

Right: TomTom navigation devices already use Tele Atlas digital mapping

TomTom has the field to itself in the race to buy Tele Atlas, the Dutch digital mapping company. Garmin, the world’s largest maker of personal navigation devices, is withdrawing its US$3.3 billion takeover bid for Tele Atlas, a week after TomTom trumped it with a US$4.2 billion bid and a claim to have 28% of the stock already.

Garmin buys most of its maps from Navteq, which is being taken over by Nokia, and the two are believed to have struck a deal guaranteeing map data supply for the next eight years.

In other news, TomTom and Garmin have settled a long-running patent dispute out of court, leaving the details undisclosed.

19 November 2007