We’ve known for a while that German auto makers Audi AG, BMW AG, and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz have been looking to acquire Nokia Corp.’s HERE Maps service, and The Wall Street Journal now says the deal has almost been done.

On Tuesday, the publication said the German firms have agreed a deal worth “slightly more than” €2.5 billion ($2.71 billion) to buy the mapping service that will power their future self-driving cars. The car makers beat out several unnamed “Silicon Valley bidders”, according to the WSJ‘s sources. However, it’s not a done deal yet, even though Nokia has been talking exclusively to the German trio since the beginning of the month.

The report says that negotiations “have been bogged down in details, from how much Nokia Here is actually worth to patents on intellectual property”. Nevertheless, “people familiar with the situation” believe that most of these details have been ironed out, and a deal is close to being finalized.

Should the deal be confirmed, the WSJ says Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz want to invite other big car manufacturers like Chrysler Group LLC., Ford Motors Company, General Motors Company and Toyota Motor Corp. to invest in HERE Maps.

“The goal has always been to run the service as an open platform for everyone,” said the WSJ’s anonymous source. “The final signing could take place in the next few days.”

Previous to this, it was widely believed that ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc. was holding talks with Nokia. However, Uber dropped its interest, choosing to acquire mapping data and other assets from Microsoft’s Bing Maps instead. That left the auto makers in pole position to seal a deal with Nokia, despite reported interest from China’s Baidu and Tencent.

HERE Maps came to the attention of bidders in April this year, after Nokia said it was reviewing its options over the service’s future, “including a potential divestment for its HERE Business.”

Nokia does have a bit of history in working with Mercedes-Benz on maps. It teamed up with the auto maker to develop smart maps in 2013, with a view to spurring the development of driverless cars.

The company hasn’t released any statement regarding the sale of HERE just yet. But if this news proves to be true, it is likely that we will see an announcement in the coming weeks. Nokia was reportedly also considering keeping a stake in HERE, but details about how much of a stake are unclear.

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