(JNS.org) Internet giant Google is set to acquire the Israeli navigation and traffic app Waze for $1.3 billion after Apple and Facebook were also reportedly interested in buying the company. Waze, which is based in the Israeli city of Ra’anana, is one of the most popular navigation, apps in the world with 50 million users. The Waze app provides drivers with information on traffic conditions, including police presence, accidents and roadwork, by collecting crowd-sourced information on its social network.

According to a report in the Israeli financial daily Globes, Waze resisted efforts by Facebook to buy the company because Waze “insisted that its Israeli employees should continue working in Israel, which Facebook did not accept.” “Google has already made two acquisitions in Israel, and it has an office here, in contrast to Facebook, which closed most of the companies it acquired, including Israeli start-ups,” the Globes report noted.