Intel acquires Israeli mapping company Telmap

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is in the process of acquiring Israeli mobile mapping firm Telmap, the two companies confirmed on Monday, in a deal reportedly worth about $300 million. Intel announced the deal in a blog posting, saying the Israeli firm would become a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Telmap also touted the deal on its website: "Telmap is happy to announce that it has been acquired by Intel." A Telmap official confirmed the deal, but declined to say how much Intel was paying for the firm, which is based in the town of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. Israeli financial newspaper Globes said the deal was worth $300 million, and that Telmap would become part of Intel's consumer services division. Telmap specialises in mobile mapping and navigation and is expected to support Intel's AppUp app store, Globes said. Intel said it expected Telmap to serve as both "a great consumer service provider" but also "directly provide developers with location-based services spanning devices, operating systems and CPU architectures."