Foursquare to Buy Location-Data Specialist Placed From Snapchat Parent

Foursquare Labs Inc., the onetime social-media darling that has transformed into a specialist in providing location data to other companies, is buying another location-data powerhouse in a bid to dominate the business of helping advertisers track foot traffic to stores.

Foursquare on Thursday said it agreed to buy Placed, a company that specializes in measuring the effectiveness of advertising by tracking users’ whereabouts, from Snapchat parent Snap Inc.