Microsoft has agreed to buy Multimap, the privately owned British company that is snapping at the heels of Google, the dominant online mapping service.The deal, understood to be worth slightly above $50 million (£24.4 million), will further expand Microsoft’s fast-growing footprint in online and mobile advertising.It will also deliver a $25 million windfall to Sean Phelan, the Multimap founder, who owned a majority stake in the business that he founded 12 years ago. Multimap’s 120 staff will share a further $13 million, with an unnamed angel investor who holds the remaining 25 per cent receiving a similar amount.
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Microsoft acquires MultiMap
Microsoft said that it had agreed to acquire MultiMap, an online map service based in London, in a bid to compete more effectively with Google’s search services and to collect more online and mobile advertising.MultiMap has a Web site that allows consumers to find elusive addresses across Europe, the United States and much of the rest of the world. It also works with business customers, allowing them to include maps of, say, office locations on their Web sites.The acquisition, announced Wednesday for an undisclosed amount, continues a race by Microsoft and its competitors on the Internet to develop their digital mapping capabilities. Online maps allow advertisers to pinpoint the location of hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/13/business/msft.php