Facebook 'in talks to buy Israeli sat-nav start-up Waze for $1bn'

The Waze move would be Facebook's third acquisition in Israel (Getty Images)

Facebook Inc is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Waze, the Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up, for between $800 million to $1 billion dollars.

Business daily Calcalist said that talks began six months ago and that due diligence is now underway after a term sheet was signed.

Waze uses satellite signals from members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users to offer real-time traffic info.

Officials at Waze are yet to comment on Calcalist's report.

This would be Facebook's third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.

In the last year, Waze tripled its user base to 45 million and in March alone, 1.5 million users downloaded the free mobile navigation app, Calcalist said.