Mapping is a key app for any Web 2.0 player, and will become even more important as applications move to mobile devices. Today Microsoft strengthened its hand in the mapping game by buying UK-based Multimap, which is the second-most popular Web-based mapping service in the UK (between Google Maps and Google Earth). The Times of London reports that Microsoft paid $50 million for the tech company, half of which went to founder Sean Phelan.
Other than improving its foothold in the UK (where Windows Live Maps is fifth), Microsoft is also gaining Multimap’s location-based search technology, which can come in handy as it pursues mobile mapping applications. Multimap will become part of Microsoft’s Virtual Earth and Search teams. Its local and geo-mapping technologies will complement Microsoft’s local-advertising efforts as well.
Multimap has been around for more than a decade. It is expected to show revenues of $25 million this year, and be slightly profitable. (It made $1.8 million in pre-tax profit in 2006).
This site doesn’t even hold a candle to Google Maps…the interface is slow and pieces of the map don’t even load correctly. Also, the advertisements don’t load correctly. Microsoft got a piece of crap here - why did they need to buy this when they have a better mapping service?
Never heard of the site before today…
In fact a lot of map companies all over the world are on high wire - only to wait for the savior to appear…
Good job Multimap!
I don’t get it! I really don’t
Why are such sites worth 50 mils? So if I spend 1mil on developers, 2 mils on advertising, I might get paid 50mils by microsoft
multi map is a good service
it’s a good deal for both sides
well done!
rc
trading tennis blog
I used to use Multimap a lot but advertising got so over the top I stoped and switched to Google. It doesn’t seem as good as Google but they do have a lot of business deals to supply mapping for other companies.
The worst one seems to be http://www.streetmap.co.uk; a poor quality map with 11 ad units per page!
Multimap has a strong presence in Europe. Which is why it was worth how much it was.
I fail to see why people think they know everything and shoot down anything that doesn’t make sense in their worldview.
Strange, I do not know if it is my internet connection, but it does seem slow for me.
Also, something a little bit annoying is that the ads are reloading when I scroll the map. Not a good feeling overall. CPM monetization can get tricky with AJAX-based applications. I guess they found a way to work it out.
Even better than Google maps and this junk site is Microsofts maps
local.live.com
The coolest feature I saw is the ability to do multiple destinations and also do 3d views without having to download any software!
@ Livecrunch: The site was sold for about 2x this year’s revenue / 25 times earnings. While that is an aggressive valuation compared to many other industries it’s actually quite reasonable in the context of other web company valuations.
@Daniel Gibbson: Nothing against that, is just that if you think how much site’s like that are worth to somebody. Like google buying off youtube but they had their own video space etc…
reasonable? it’s TOTALLY FREAKING CHEAP. valuation sucks. he was tired and wanted to exit! (who can blame him?)
Wonder if Microsoft thought about other platforms or just made the M&A move for Europe market share. (ie: http://placebase.com/ is pushing out some cool products and services)
Dear US colleagues,
Google maps lacks the familiarity we Brits expect of the Ordnance Survey 1:25000 map which forms the second level of Multimap.
Detailed and breathtakingly accurate. Google maps aren’t either. Relief is not the same as the real contour lines. Look at the 1:25000 detail on my home address LL59 5BA…. it tells you so much about the area.
Google always giving us the innovation
I want to see a map of all my Facebook friends, and who’s online now.
35 acquisitions to go!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
We used multimap on a number of different projects … Microsoft had to do this acquisition to compete with Google Maps.
Grr. It’s not the “Times of London”! It’s “The Times” or, if you must, “The Times (UK)”.
It’s a national newspaper. I buy it every day (today’s is beside me) and at the top of the front page it says “THE TIMES”. “of London” isn’t written anywhere.
I know the US has mostly regional papers and most Americans think the UK and London are pretty much the same thing but there’s no excuse for a journalist to not know the name of probably the most famous newspaper in the world!
(This has annoyed me for years and this is the first time I’ve complained. I’ll pick on someone else next time!)
This is really a whopping money for multimap… But MICROSOFT people will take this much higher and show it’s original worth much more than what they bought it for