Not content with the $7.2 billion spent by Microsoft to acquire Nokia's failing mobile division, the Finnish company is looking to offset its popular mapping service, Here Maps.

Nokia is looking into the potential sale of Here Maps a few weeks after partnering with Chinese search giant Baidu to provide mapping information to tourists outside of Mainland China, where Baidu does not have a large presence.

Like Us on Facebook

It's interesting to hear Nokia contemplating a sale considering the value of having a neutral position compared to Google Maps for companies like Baidu that don't want to work with rivals. Nokia has also invested a large amount of time into Here maps, adding offline support amongst other features unavailable on Google or Apple Maps.

Nokia is planning to invest the Here acquisition earnings into its wireless networking technologies. It also wants to improve its credit rating, which has fallen in the past decade due to failures in the smartphone industry and poor acquisitions in the 2000s.

The history of Nokia's mapping journey started in 2008 when it acquired Chicago-based navigation and mapping company Navteq for $8.1 billion. Several analysts claim this was a mistake in retrospect since Nokia did little with the technology until 2011 when it launched Here maps.

Even though Here Maps has grown into a respectable service, most of the technologies and patents in the Navteq acquisition are no longer relevant. Nokia may keep some of these patents for its portfolio though, meaning the buyer of Here maps might be paying Nokia to run the mapping technology.

In terms of buyers, Uber is the one most heavily referenced. Having its own mapping platform would do a world of good for Uber's massive taxi force alongside offering better routing and real-time navigation for the driver and customer.

Several German automotive companies are also looking to take a stab at the bidding, although given Uber's huge $40 billion valuation and available funds through huge revenues in New York City and San Francisco, we're sure the private company will be able to match companies like Audi, BMW and Volkswagen.

Here Maps is valued at around $2.1 billion, a large step down from the $8.1 billion it paid for Navteq. Nokia is currently profitable but it's unclear if the mapping division is helping with this profit. Nokia has declined to comment on the report.

TagsNokia, Here Maps, mapping, Navigation, Navteq, Uber