Garmin are selling more GPS systems than ever before, and as well as earning shedloads of money day-in, day-out, they are the cleverest long term strategisers in the GPS business too. So smart, in fact, that nobody on Wall Street has seen that they could be after their greatest rivals, TomTom!

Background

Everyone is talking about GPS darlings, Garmin, these days, applauding them on their management skills and ability to grow market share, and all that good business stuff. But suddenly Wall St says that this very same glamor boy management team have got it wrong with a couple of M&A moves.

They did wrong, apparently, first of all by not buying Navtech for $9bn. Then they really screwed things up, so the experts say, by putting in an offer today of $3.3bn for TeleAtlas, (a company smaller than Navtech) who also make maps and have $1bn cash in the bank.

Garmin trumped Wall St once already.

According to the Wall St experts, Garmin did wrong when they decided not to spend $9bn on Navtech ie they screwed up by not blowing billions all at once in order to secure the supply of a product they can get off the shelf any day of the week. (Yes, Wall St, even under Nokia ownership, Navtech are obliged by law to supply Garmin at fair market prices.) Wall St knocked Garmin down about 20% over a few days. Garmin bounced straight back, of course!

Master stroke

And now, Garmin have decided to try and take ownership of a smaller map-maker with a stash of cash in the bank and Wall St have again hammered them down 11% for so doing. How short sighted of Wall Street, because the stock will again bounce back up, stronger than ever, before going meteoric!!

It will go meteoric because of Garmin's real strategy behind the TeleAtlas offer!

On the surface Garmin made a pure counter-bid against arch European rivals, TomTom, and by entering the bidding arena, Garmin have put the onus on TomTom to raise their initial offer. 1-0 to Garmin who will make their rivals pay more than they wanted!

But it is in fact 2-0 because Garmin's move rocked Euro stock market confidence in TomTom, and the T2 stock price dropped 18%. How cruel to become embroiled in a bidding war not of your making!

But according to Ed, it could be 3-0 to Garmin, and game over for TomTom, - and Wall St would never see this one coming.

Game, set and snatch

How funny if Garmin were to announce tomorrow that not only were they buying up a few TeleAtlas shares today prior to publicising the "disastrous TeleAtlas offer" but that they also went shopping in Europe and now own enough cheap TomTom shares to get on their board and kick some butt!

Probably too frivolous a thought, but either way, plenty of savvy investors will be buying into a slice of Garmin over the next few days. They are the best.