Ha’aretz reports that Google is poised to buy Waze for $1.3 billion. The Google deal would keep Waze and its CEO, Noam Bardin, in Israel for the next three years and allow it to remain independent and retain its brand. Perhaps Bardin does not care what happens to Waze in three years. But my hunch is that Google will shut Waze down in 2016 after incorporating Waze’s best technology into Google’s own navigation service.

According to Ha’aretz, “Google’s interest in Waze stems principally from its aim of blocking Facebook’s growth. The search company operates its own navigation service that competes head on with Waze. It has invested heavily in its system, including the ambitious Google Street View database of images and satellite images.”

And the last thing Google wanted was to let Facebook jumpstart its effort to catch up with Google’s navigation system by incorporating Waze’s technology into Facebook.

Mashable contacted Google and Waze to verify the deal report in Ha’aretzbut Waze didn’t immediately respond to its request for comment while Google told Mashable, “We don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”

I think this deal would be better for Bardin than the Facebook one that fell apart. But I would be concerned about whether Google will keep Waze going after 2016 when the deal to keep Waze independent expires.

I think Waze’s users would be better off if another deal emerged that paid Waze more and promised to keep the service going for the foreseeable future.

Google Buys Waze for 1.3 Billion USD