By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--John de Mol, the creator of reality show Big Brother,
has taken a 5.1% stake in satellite navigation company TomTom NV
(TOM2.AE), according to a regulatory filing released Wednesday by
Dutch markets regulator AFM.
The disclosure comes as digital mapping companies like TomTom
have caught the interest of auto-makers seeking to develop
technology for self-driving cars. Earlier this week, a group of
Germany's biggest auto-makers, including BMW AG (BMW.XE) and
Daimler AG (DAI.XE), clinched a deal to buy Nokia Corp.'s digital
mapping business in a 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion) deal.
TomTom is the "last major independent mapping asset" after the
sale of Nokia Here, which should have positive impact on TomTom
stock, analysts at UBS said in a note this week.
Shares in TomTom rose 3.6% to EUR10.41 in Amsterdam, having
rallied nearly 92% over the past year.
TomTom wasn't immediately available for comment.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk
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