De Mol Discloses 5% Stake in Dutch Mapping Software Maker TomTom
(Bloomberg) -- J.H.H. de Mol reported a 5.1 percent stake in TomTom NV amid reports that the Dutch navigation software and device maker is weighing options that could lead to a sale.
De Mol held 11.67 million ordinary shares of TomTom as of Aug. 4, according to a filing at Dutch regulator AFM on Wednesday, which didn’t disclose the price of sale. Billionaire John De Mol, known for creating one of the first modern-day reality-TV shows with “Big Brother,” agreed to sell his TV-format producer Talpa for $1.2 billion in March.
John de Mol’s spokeswoman wasn’t immediately able to comment. Shares of TomTom rose as much as 4.4 percent in Amsterdam, bringing the annual gain to about 89 percent. At Tuesday’s closing price of 10.03 euros per share, De Mol’s stake would have been worth about 117 million euros.
TomTom is exploring options that could lead to a sale as mapping technology draws growing interest from potential buyers, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week. There is no formal process under way and TomTom may decide against pursuing a sale and instead focus on investments, the people said.
Mapping companies are garnering more interest amid carmakers’ push for self-driving systems independent of technology giants such as Google Inc. German carmakers BMW AG, Audi AG and Daimler AG Monday announced an agreement to buy Nokia Oyj’s map business for 2.8 billion euros ($3 billion). TomTom was worth 2.3 billion euros at the close of trading in Amsterdam Tuesday.
