Amsterdam - Billionaire John de Mol reported a 5.1 percent stake in TomTom 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 August 4, according to a filing at Dutch regulator AFM on Wednesday, which didn’t disclose the price of sale.
The television producer, known for creating one of the first modern- day reality-TV shows with “Big Brother,” agreed to sell his TV-format maker Talpa for $1.2 billion in March.
De Mol’s spokeswoman confirmed the filing.
Shares of TomTom rose 3.5 percent to 10.39 euros at 10.18 am in Amsterdam trading, bringing the gain this year to about 88 percent. At Tuesday’s closing price of 10.03 euros per share, De Mol’s stake would have been worth about 117 million euros ($127 million).
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.
German carmakers BMW, Audi and Daimler on Monday announced an agreement to buy Nokia Oyj’s map business for 2.8 billion euros. TomTom was worth 2.3 billion euros at the close of trading in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
BLOOMBERG