TomTom N.V. ("TomTom" or the "Offeror") and Tele Atlas N.V. ("Tele Atlas") hereby jointly announce that they have received unconditional clearance from the European Commission for the proposed acquisition by TomTom of Tele Atlas. The ruling of the EC is the best possible outcome for TomTom and Tele Atlas allowing the new combination to go ahead with the full execution of its strategy. Clearance from the US authorities was received in October 2007.
This is a joint announcement of TomTom N.V.("TomTom") and Tele Atlas N.V. ("Tele Atlas") which is required pursuant to the provisions of section 9b paragraph 1 of the Dutch Securities Markets Supervision Decree 1995 (Besluit toezicht effectenverkeer 1995) in connection with the recommended public offer by TomTom for all outstanding ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.10 each (the "Shares"; holders of such Shares being referred to as "Shareholders") in the share capital of Tele Atlas (the "Offer"). This announcement and related materials do not constitute an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares. Any offer will be made only by means of the Offer Memorandum a
The combination will create new technologies for interactive map creation, enrichment and maintenance. TomTom Map Share(TM) enables TomTom's installed base of nearly 20 million to contribute to digital map creation and maintenance. TomTom IQ Routes(TM) adds to the map routing information based on the actual speeds driven on roads, which may differ for the time of the day, day of the week, or season in the year. TomTom HD Traffic(TM) real time information can be overlaid on map data to further enhance the quality of routing and traffic information.
Additional incremental data from TomTom will allow Tele Atlas to introduce new features such as more frequent map updates. Superior, cost efficiently created content will enable Tele Atlas to further strengthen its market position in the rapidly growing worldwide market for digital maps and to grow its addressable market by investing cost synergies in increasing global coverage.
The end result - better maps produced more efficiently and updated more frequently - will benefit all current and future customers of Tele Atlas. Tele Atlas customers' relationship with the company will remain exactly the same. All Tele Atlas customers, including TomTom, will have access to the same higher quality maps, at the same time and will pay a comparable price. Customers' confidentiality will be safeguarded and will never be at risk.
Source: TOMTOM
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