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TomTom did not release details of the latest
deal between the two companies, which some analysts said may be
skewed in Apple's favor due to the prestige that accrues to
TomTom for working with the U.S. company.
TomTom has licensed digital maps to Apple since 2012, when it
beat Google Inc to supply the built-in mapping apps in Apple
products, starting with the iPhone 6.
The renewal of the contract comes as Nokia reviews strategic
options for its digital mapmaking arm HERE, the largest seller
of mapping technology to carmakers.
Although analysts see Uber or a group of German carmakers as the
most likely buyer of HERE, along with private equity firms,
Apple had also been considered a candidate.
In a client note, ING analyst Marc Zwartsenburg said: "This
flags that Apple has still not found an alternative for its
mapping sourcing".
Zwartsenburg, who rates shares a "buy", said that depending on
the price HERE eventually fetches, ING could raise its one-year
share price target for TomTom to as high as 13.5 euros from 11
euros at present.
TomTom aims to become a leading provider of technology for
self-driving cars as it reinvents itself after years of slow
progress, Chief Executive Harold Goddijn told Reuters this
month..
TomTom shares were up 6.7 percent at 8.834 euros by 0726 GMT,
after rising as high as 8.934 euros, their highest since late
2009. The stock is up 57 percent year-to-date, as TomTom has won
several large automotive contracts and investors re-rate the
value of its mapping technology.
(Reporting By Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling; Editing by
David Goodman and David Holmes)
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