Social networking giant Facebook is in advanced talks to buy Israeli-based crowd-sourced navigation start-up Waze for between $800 million and $1 billion, according to a report in Israeli business daily Calcalist and their sister publication Ynet.
Waze produces a navigation app which has a large social element, where users have the ability to adjust and improve the accuracy of the maps themselves as well as check in to report traffic events like congestion or a police stop.
According to a TechCrunch, Facebook and Waze have both privately confirm they've been in discussions and the remaining issues being finalized between the groups revolve around pricing and whether to relocate Waze from Israel to the U.S.
Waze reportedly received and rejected a much smaller offer from Facebook six months ago, between $200 million and $280 million.
The two companies first partnered in October 2012 when Waze released its updated version that allows users to share their drive with their Facebook friends, according to Reuters.
If the deal goes through, it will be Facebook's third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.
According to the Calcalist report, Waze has tripled its user base to 45 million over the last year and in March alone, 1.5 million users downloaded the free mobile navigation app.
