Waze Workers Get $1.2M Each From Google Deal

Image by haaretz

The 100 employees of the Israeli navigation app developer Waze stand to receive a total of $120 million, as a result of Google’s acquisition of the company, making this the most lucrative exit ever for employees of an Israeli startup. The global search giant confirmed on Tuesday that it had agreed to purchase Waze for $1.15 billion.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Waze CEO Noam Bardin on Tuesday evening to congratulate him on the sale. “We fought to keep the company in Israel,” Bardin said in response. “We’ll help you close the hole in the budget,” he added, partially in jest but also in pride.

Of the $1.15 billion that Google transferred into the account of Waze’s shareholders’ trustee, $1.03 billion will be going to the company’s owners, which include institutional investors, funds and other investors.

The remaining $120 million will be going to workers over the next four years. This includes $45 million they’ll be receiving in exchange for options and shares they hold, and another $75 million to be paid as compensation. These figures were hashed out between Waze’s management, shareholders and Google’s representatives.

For more, go to Haaretz