Google-Waze deal to get close anti-trust review

Google Inc., owner of the world’s largest search engine, confirmed it has been contacted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regarding the acquisition of mapping-application Waze.

The company wouldn’t comment on an investigation, said Niki Fenwick, a spokeswoman. Google said earlier this month it was buying Waze in a deal that gave it new tools for helping users navigate traffic with smartphones.

Google is undergoing scrutiny from regulators around the world as it expands its product lineup and moves into new areas such as mobile technology. The company underwent regulatory approval by the U.S. and other countries for its $12.4 billion acquisition of handset-maker Motorola Mobility, which became part of Google last year.

The Waze deal was valued at about $1.1 billion, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this month. Google didn’t disclose terms in a blog post announcing the acquisition.

The New York Post reported earlier the FTC had begun investigating Google over the Waze deal.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net