German carmakers eye Nokia's map unit

Frankfurt

GERMANY'S premium carmakers Mercedes, Audi and BMW have teamed up with private equity firm General Atlantic to increase their firepower to acquire Nokia's mapping unit Here, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Finland's Nokia started a strategic review of its maps business last month, setting in motion an auction process that has pitted Internet players like Uber and Baidu against carmakers in a deal that could be worth up to US$4 billion.

The review came after Nokia announced a 15.6 billion euro (S$23.2 billion) takeover of netw…