Nokia said today it had agreed to buy US digital mapmaker Navteq for 8.1 billion dollars (5.7 billion euros), planning to offer many more mobile phones with integrated global positioning system (GPS) next year. Under the agreement, Nokia will pay $78 in cash for each Navteq share, including outstanding options.

"Location based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia's Internet services strategy. The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President and CEO, Nokia. "By joining forces with Navteq, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our Internet services with accelerated time to market. We also look forward to maintaining and enhancing the services and support provided to Navteq's existing and future customers."

Chicago-based Navteq maintains digital maps which it licenses to global positioning systems and Web sites. Founded in 1985, it has around 3,000 employees in 168 offices in 30 countries.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.