Motorola CEO Says Navteq Wasn't Good Fit
CHICAGO - Motorola Inc. looked into the possibility of buying Navteq Corp. before rival Nokia Corp. struck a deal for the digital mapmaker but rejected an acquisition because it wasn't a good strategic fit, the cell-maker's CEO Ed Zander said.
"We looked at it and went on our way," Zander told students and teachers of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business on Monday. "We didn't even think about it."
He called the $8.1 billion price tag for Navteq (nyse: NVT - news - people ) "stunning."
Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) is acquiring Chicago-based Navteq as part of its strategy to move into wireless applications, adding navigation services to the music applications it also is branching into.
"That's not our strategy," Zander said. "We are not in the applications business."
He also noted that "getting into the business of your customers" can be dangerous. Analysts have noted the risk Nokia faces of alienating wireless carriers - its biggest customers - by coming up with its own plans for mapping and music.
Zander also said his battle earlier this year with financier Carl Icahn was all business and not a personal grudge match. He said he still sometimes stops in to see Icahn when he is in New York, as he does with other large shareholders.
Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) shares ended at $18.73 Tuesday, unchanged from Monday.
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"We looked at it and went on our way," Zander told students and teachers of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business on Monday. "We didn't even think about it."
He called the $8.1 billion price tag for Navteq (nyse: NVT - news - people ) "stunning."
Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) is acquiring Chicago-based Navteq as part of its strategy to move into wireless applications, adding navigation services to the music applications it also is branching into.
"That's not our strategy," Zander said. "We are not in the applications business."
He also noted that "getting into the business of your customers" can be dangerous. Analysts have noted the risk Nokia faces of alienating wireless carriers - its biggest customers - by coming up with its own plans for mapping and music.
Zander also said his battle earlier this year with financier Carl Icahn was all business and not a personal grudge match. He said he still sometimes stops in to see Icahn when he is in New York, as he does with other large shareholders.
Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) shares ended at $18.73 Tuesday, unchanged from Monday.
source
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With all due respect, Zander is hardly an authority on the cell phone business any more.. lol..
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