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BRUSSELS, Belgium — Nov 30, ‘07 — EU governments agreed Friday to jointly complete the development of the much-delayed Galileo satellite navigation project after mollifying Spain, which had demanded a bigger stake in the venture, the AP reported.

Spain was the lone holdout in a 26-1 vote at an EU meeting on moving ahead with the $5 billion undertaking.

In seeking unanimity, the EU later won Spain’s approval with a deal that said a secondary ground station - planned for Spain to monitor emergency services on Galileo channels - may one day be a full-blown ground control station if Spain pays for that upgrade.

The European Commission set a Dec. 31 deadline for final approval of the satellite program. When completed, by 2013, it is expected to rival the American global positioning system, which also is satellite-based.

On Nov 23, EU governments agreed to a taxpayer bailout for the project, several months after a consortium of private companies walked away from it in a financing dispute. Most of the €2.4 billion ($3.56 billion) needed to complete the project will come from unspent funds originally earmarked for agriculture

Brussels — Nov 28, ‘07 — The European Commission has opened a detailed investigation under the EU merger regulation into TomTom’s proposed acquisition of Tele Atlas, both of The Netherlands.

TomTom produces portable navigation devices (PNDs) and Tele Atlas is one of two producers of navigable digital maps, a crucial input for PND manufacturers.

The Commission’s initial market investigation has indicated that the proposed merger raises serious doubts with regards to vertical competition concerns. A decision to open an in-depth inquiry does not prejudge the final result of the investigation. The Commission now has until 17 April 2008 to take a final decision on whether the proposed transaction would significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a significant part of it.

Tom Tom is active in navigation software and manufacturing of PNDs and is the market leader in the EEA. Tele Atlas is one of only two producers of navigable digital maps offering a complete coverage of Europe and North America (the other being U.S firm Navteq).

After a preliminary review, the Commission has identified serious doubts that the acquisition by TomTom of Tele Atlas might, in the light of the duopoly market for navigable digital maps and TomTom’s strong position on the market for PNDs, lead to a significant impediment of effective competition within the EEA.

Navigable digital maps are essential inputs for producers of PNDs. The proposed acquisition raises vertical competition concerns because TomTom acquires one of the current two map suppliers that provide maps for the whole of Europe. The Commission’s in-depth investigation will focus, inter alia, on assessing whether the transaction would increase the costs of other PND manufacturers for navigable digital map or limit their access to these maps, and as a consequence harm consumers. More at European Commission.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Nov 23, ‘07 — The European Union’s troubled Galileo satellite navigation system will be financed from leftover EU funds, EU ministers decided Friday, after Germany and three other countries that had opposed the arrangement relented.

Most of the €2.4 billion ($3.56 billion) the EU says is needed to complete the project will come from unspent funds originally earmarked for agriculture, officials said. Some €300 million (US$445 million) was also earmarked to launch the EU’s new technology and innovation institute, meant to rival the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The decision means Galileo — which nearly folded after a consortium of private companies tasked with developing it failed to make progress — will be completed. It is to give Europe its own satellite navigation, ending its dependency on the U.S.-run Global Positioning System.

Germany got on board after the EU’s executive Commission proposed new tender rules meant to ensure the multibillion-euro project is not dominated by a single company.

In Berlin, a German Transport Ministry spokesman welcomed the Commission proposal, saying it would secure competition and could lead to benefits for German companies.

A source close to EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the project segments would include satellites, launchers, ground mission infrastructure and control, system software, and other tasks.

There would be the possibility of two tenders to build 26 satellites that make up the system, which is expected to have 30 satellites in total. “The bidder will have to put an offer for all 26, but then we will contract only for a first batch of 10, for example,” the source said.

BENTONVILLE, Ark – Nov. 19, 2007 – For the first time ever, Wal-Mart is moving the traditional “Black Friday” shopping event up one day early, aiming to catch early-bird shoppers as the turkey hits the table. Also today, Wal-Mart announces one of its “Secret In-Store Specials,” available this Friday – a KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer for $139 – and posts on-line its entire “Black Friday” advertising circular, full of great savings on hundreds of items.

Three Days of Black Friday Deals, Starting

• Online Thursday: On Thanksgiving Day, shoppers can go to Walmart.com to find online specials on many of the season’s hottest items in electronics, toys, apparel and home, with free shipping through its Site to Store program. While on the site Thursday, shoppers also can see Wal-Mart’s Friday “Secret In-Store Specials” – additional savings not in the circular and available in stores the next day.

• In Stores Friday: From 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 23, Wal-Mart stores will ring in huge savings on traditional Black Friday offers advertised in its circular and through its “Secret In-Store Specials” revealed online. Friday’s specials will be available while supplies last. Also on Friday, Walmart.com will reveal a new set of “Secret In-Store Specials” available Saturday through Sunday. 

• In Stores Saturday: Beginning Saturday, Nov. 24, at 8 a.m., shoppers can grab savings on a totally new set of “Secret In-Store Specials” available while supplies last through Sunday.   In addition, many items advertised in Wal-Mart’s Black Friday circular are also available through Saturday.

“It’s time to expand ‘Black Friday’ into three full days for the millions who want this convenience and need these savings,” says John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. “With strong preparations and more registers open than ever before, we’re looking forward to welcoming America into our stores.”

A taste of special Thanksgiving Day savings only on www.walmart.com include:

• Motorola H670 Bluetooth Earset - $24.87 (nearly 60% savings)
• Zune 30GB MP3 Video Player - $98.87 (nearly 25% savings)
• Garmin Nuvi 650 Portable GPS System - $298.87 (more than 30% savings)

Examples of “Black Friday” circular savings in Wal-Mart stores offered Friday, 5 a.m. through 11 a.m. include:

• Polaroid 32 inch LCD HDTV - $448 ($100 savings)
• Polaroid 42 inch LCD HDTV - $798 ($400 savings)
• Sony Cybershot Camera (7.2 MP) -  $79.87 ($50 savings)
• 8 inch Digital Picture Frame - $49.84 ($50 savings)
• Garmin Street Pilot c330 GPS - $128.88 ($50 savings)
• Select Toys for just $10 – such as the Transformers Bonus 2-pack, Little Mommie Bedtime Baby, Chicken Dance Elmo, Scene It Jr. DVD Board Game, and Moon Sand Sandcastle (savings up to 50%)

More at Wal-Mart.

AMSTERDAM, Netherland – Nov 18, ’07 – Two days after Garmin dropped its effort to buy Tele Atlas NV, TomTom NV said it would begin an offer of $43.88 a share for the digital-mapping company.

The other global map maker, Navteq, has agreed to be acquired by cell phone manufacturer Nokia Oyj for $8.1 billion.

The period in which Tele Atlas shareholders can tender their shares will begin on Nov. 19 and end on Dec. 18, the companies said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Tele Atlas will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Dec. 7 to discuss the offer.

TomTom Press Release:

“With reference to the press release of 7 November 2007, TomTom NV and Tele Atlas NV hereby jointly announce that TomTom is making a recommended public cash offer for all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.10 each in the capital of Tele Atlas.

Highlights
- The Offer is a cash offer for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Tele Atlas of EUR 30.00 per Share.
- The acceptance period commences at 9:00 hours, Amsterdam time (3:00 hours New York time) on 19 November 2007 and will end at 15:00 hours Amsterdam time (9:00 hours New York time) on 18 December 2007, unless extended.
- Tele Atlas will convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held on 7 December 2007 during which the Offer will be discussed.
- The Boards fully support the Offer and recommend the Offer to all Shareholders for acceptance.
- A condition to the Offer is that the number of Shares tendered for acceptance under the Offer, together with the Shares that are held at that time by the Offeror, represents at least 80 per cent. of all issued and outstanding Shares as set out in the Offer Memorandum.

The Offer
TomTom is making the Offer, subject to the terms and restrictions contained in the offer memorandum dated 18 November 2007.

Shareholders tendering their Shares under the Offer will be paid, under the terms and subject to the conditions and restrictions contained in the Offer Memorandum, in consideration of each Share validly tendered and delivered (geleverd) a cash amount of EUR 30.00.”

More at TomTom, Tele Atlas.

Cayman Islands — PR Newswire — Nov 16, ‘07 — Garmin Ltd. announced today that its subsidiaries, Garmin International Inc and Garmin Corporation, have signed a six-year extension to their agreement with NAVTEQ, a leading provider of digital map data for location based solutions and vehicle navigation.

The agreement allows Garmin to continue using NAVTEQ data through 2015, with an option to renew for an additional four-year period. In addition, the parties have agreed to pursue expanded points of cooperation that will result in improved mapping quality and coverage worldwide, and will drive further device innovation into the future. The parties did not disclose specific details of the agreement.

“Garmin has partnered with NAVTEQ for many years. We utilize their map data in the majority of our products and we have always appreciated their commitment to the market,” said Garmin CEO Dr. Min Kao. “Extending our agreement with NAVTEQ ensures the availability of quality mapping data for our customers, and provides a basis for enhanced cooperation which is a win-win for both Garmin and NAVTEQ. We believe the outcome creates the best value for Garmin, our customers, and stakeholders.”

In addition and with reference to the press release dated October 31, 2007, Garmin also announced today that in light of these developments it does not intend to pursue its offer for Tele Atlas N.V.

Garmin is a leading, worldwide provider of navigation, communications and information devices with subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Brazil and Singapore with pending acquisitions in Denmark, Italy and Spain. More at Garmin.

Garmin and TomTom have settled their intellectual property suits that were pending in the U.S., UK and the Netherlands. The settlement may enable both firms to divert more resources and attention on another battle: fighting for the right to acquire Tele Atlas, a digital map publisher.

CAYMAN ISLANDS/November 15, 2007/PR Newswire - Garmin Ltd. announces today a confidential global settlement of all of its intellectual property litigation with TomTom.  The settlement resolves all of the pending intellectual property litigation including cases in the UK, Netherlands, Wisconsin, and Texas. The parties did not disclose details of their agreement.

Garmin, based in the Cayman Islands but with operational headquarters in Olathe, Kan., makes products that use global positioning system data and leads the market for navigation devices in the U.S.

TomTom, based in Amsterdam, is the European leader in similar devices.

Garmin sued TomTom in federal courts in Wisconsin and Texas, claiming it infringed on Garmin patents. And Garmin asked courts in the Netherlands and United Kingdom to invalidate registered designs and patents claimed by TomTom.

TomTom countersued in Wisconsin, claiming Garmin infringed on three patents TomTom bought from Horizon Navigation Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif., which makes in-vehicle navigation devices.

A year ago, Garmin won the first round when a court in The Hague, Netherlands, refused TomTom’s request for a preliminary injunction against Garmin for allegedly copying a European registered design it owned.

The lawsuits were seen as an ill-time distraction for both companies. They come at a time when the GPS market is growing rapidly and reaching critical mass in many developed markets.

Earlier this year, Garmin overtook TomTom for the global market share lead in delivering GPS systems, shipping 1.85 million units in the second quarter, a 25 percent global market share, according to research firm Canalys.

TomTom was close behind, with 1.81 million GPS systems shipped, a market share of 24 percent. Those two were far ahead of the rest of the pack, with the top five rounded out by Mio Technology, Magellan and Navman. In Europe, TomTom has 30 percent of the market and Garmin about 17 percent. Garmin has long led in the U.S. with more than 50 percent market share.

Tele Atlas is the last remaining independent publisher of the digital maps that power GPS systems following Nokia’s purchase last month of Navteq in a deal worth $8.1 billion. More at Garmin.

OLATHE, Kan – Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Garmin today introduced a new line of big-screen multi-function displays (MFDs), designed for use in larger yachts and powerboats — the GPSMAP(R) 5X15 series and the GPSMAP 4X10 series.

The GPSMAP 5X15 series has a whopping 15-inch diagonal XGA (1024 x 768 pixel) sunlight readable touchscreen display. The touchscreen makes navigating menus a snap because the “virtual buttons” change depending on the function — and it also eliminates the need for “hard” buttons, a valuable space saver. Garmin offers two models — the GPSMAP 5015 with an enhanced worldwide satellite imagery basemap; and the GPSMAP 5215, which comes pre-loaded with highly detailed U.S. coastal charts and Explorer Charts for the Bahamas.

The GPSMAP 4X10 features a 10.4-inch diagonal SVGA (800 x 600 pixel) sunlight readable display with a conventional alphanumeric keypad and a row of soft keys for easy data input. Within this family, Garmin offers the GPSMAP 4010, with an enhanced worldwide satellite imagery basemap to enhance the standard vector chart format; and the GPSMAP 4210, which comes pre-loaded with highly detailed U.S. coastal charts and Explorer Charts for the Bahamas.

All of the new units are fully network compatible with the Garmin Marine Network, a system that combines GPS, radar, autopilot, XM WX Satellite Weather, sonar, and other sensors for unparalleled situational awareness.

For even greater capabilities, boaters can load the new MFDs with BlueChart(R) g2 Vision technology — conveniently available on a
pre-programmed SD card. In addition to high-res satellite imagery, g2 Vision features true “mariner’s eye view” above water or a “fish eye”
underwater perspective — both in three dimensions. The GPSMAP 5X15 and GPSMAP 4X10 family of MFDs will be available in March 2008. More at Garmin.

AMSTERDAM, Nov o7, ‘07 – TomTom, the world’s biggest maker of navigation devices, raised its offer for TeleAtlas, the mapping company, by 41 per cent on Wednesday and bought 28 per cent of the target’s shares in a bid to see off a challenge from US rival Garmin.

Garmin sparked a bidding war for Tele Atlas last week with an unsolicited €2.1bn bid that trumped TomTom’s initial offer. The Dutch company raised its cash offer for TeleAtlas to €30 a share, valuing TomTom at about €2.9bn.

“We are now well positioned to buy Tele Atlas”, said Harold Goddijn, chief executive of TomTom. “We are now their biggest customer and their biggest shareholder.”

The bidding war for Tele Atlas comes at a time of consolidation in the digital mapping industry. Tele Atlas, like TomTom based in the Netherlands, is one of only two large global providers of digital maps. Navteq, its competitor, was bought by Nokia for $8.1bn in September.

Tele Atlas shares rose 18 per cent to €31.80, above the offer price, signalling investors believed Garmin may raise its offer. TomTom shares fell 1 per cent to €56.

Garmin and TomTom both want to own a mapping company to keep down the cost of maps and develop new products. Sales of navigation devices are set to double this year from 16m in 2006.

“The whole navigation and mapping industry is still relatively young.” Mr Goddijn said. “This is not the endgame but I think it’s an important transition phase in the industry.”

Oct 31, ‘07 — Navigation device maker Garmin has made a $3.3bn offer for digital map provider Tele Atlas, trumping a bid from rival Tom Tom.

US-based Garmin is offering 24.50 euros for each Tele Atlas share, 15% higher than the 21.25 euros-per-share offer made by Tom Tom back in July. Analysts said they expected Tom Tom to return with a fresh counterbid.

Both Tom Tom and Tele Atlas are based in the Netherlands, and Tele Atlas is Tom Tom’s main map provider. Garmin’s move comes after Tele Atlas’ only global competitor, US-based Navteq, agreed earlier this month to be bought by Finnish firm Nokia for $8.1bn.

Petercam analyst Eric de Graaf said TomTom made a strategic error not to build a stake in Tele Atlas before, but could not afford to lose out now.

“The only logical conclusion can be that TomTom takes the next step and significantly raises its bid,” De Graaf said, adding TomTom should bid at least 27 euros per share, with a knock-out bid being closer to 30 euros. Both TomTom and Tele Atlas said they would study Garmin’s proposed offer and gave no further comment.

Garmin is planning to launch its offer by December 4, the scheduled expiry date for TomTom’s offer, and has secured financing commitments. The offer will be conditional on at least 66.67 percent of Tele Atlas shares being tendered.

When Nokia unveiled its offer for Navteq, analysts said the move was most problematic for Garmin, which is mainly supplied by Navteq, as it could fall behind because TomTom or Nokia would have first access to new technology and could integrate it more tightly.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–October 23, ‘07 — Palm and Garmin, today announced a Palm GPS Navigator featuring Garmin Mobile XT software for the first time. Drivers using the new GPS Navigator with their Palm smartphones can rely on turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions to easily find their destinations as well as millions of points of interest, updated traffic, fuel prices, hotel prices and weather forecasts. Expected late November, the Palm GPS Navigator featuring Garmin software will be available for $249.

Garmin Mobile XT is preloaded on a microSD card (with miniSD and standard SD card adapters) that includes Garmin navigation software for the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Garmin’s map data is provided by NAVTEQ.

More at BusinessWire