Nokia has acquired world's largest digital map content provider, report Robert Anderson and Paul Taylor of Financial Times:

Nokia, the world's largest mobile telephone manufacturer, is to take a giant step into the fast-growing mobile content and services market by acquiring Navteq, the leading provider of digital map information, for $8.1bn (€5.7bn) in cash.

Nokia, which is trying both to diversify away from handsets and offer customers more reasons to buy its handsets, will pay $78 in cash for each Navteq share, a 34 per cent premium to the price a month ago when takeover speculation started to push the shares higher.

The deal is the biggest in Nokia's recent spending spree. In recent months, the Finnish handset maker has announced plans to acquire Loudeye, a digital music company, for $60m, Twango, a social networking community, for a reported $100m, and Enpocket, a mobile marketing company, for an undisclosed sum.

Analysts suggested the price was expensive, given that TomTom, the market leader in car navigation devices, recently agreed to pay €1.8bn for Tele Atlas, the number two in the digital map market.