FRANKFURT: Germany`s premium automakers Mercedes, Audi and BMW have teamed up with private equity firm General Atlantic to raise their chances of clinching Nokia`s map unit HERE by overtaking Internet bidders, two people familiar with the matter said.
One financial industry source said on Thursday that General Atlantic would likely take a 30 percent stake in the auto industry-led consortium, but that the exact percentage had not yet been finalised and could change.
A separate source said that each of the three carmakers was prepared to chip in up to 700 million euros ($780 million) but that the percentage stakes of each manufacturer was not yet fixed.
The automakers have not heard back from Nokia and are waiting for a response before they weigh whether to top up their bid, another person said.
Nokia, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen`s Audi declined to comment. Greenwich, Connecticut-based General Atlantic Partners also declined to comment.
