In April, AOL sold one of the pioneers of instant messaging, ICQ, to Digital Sky Technologies Limited (DST) for $187.5 million USD.
Today, AOL has completed that sale, with Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL saying the company will use the proceeds to either buy media properties or hoard the cash for emergencies.
Despite losing popularity in the United States to other services such as MSN Messenger and AIM, ICQ remains the most popular IM service in Russia and other smaller international markets.
“The acquisition of ICQ is a strategic enhancement of our business in Russia and Eastern Europe. ICQ’s long-standing brand name and its sizeable loyal customer base together represent a very attractive opportunity to further strengthen our position in the region,” added Yuri Milner, Chief Executive Officer of DST.
ICQ was created in 1996 by Mirabilis of Israel, and AOL purchased the parent company in 1998.
Reads the SEC notice: As previously announced, on April 28, 2010, AOL Inc., (the “Company”) entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Digital Sky Technologies Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“Digital Sky”), for the sale of the Company’s ICQ operations (“ICQ”).
Result for: one of the pioneers
AOL has sold one of the pioneers of instant messaging, ICQ, to Digital Sky Technologies Limited (DST) for $187.5 million USD.
Despite losing popularity in the United States to other services such as MSN Messenger and AIM, ICQ remains the most popular IM service in Russia and other smaller international markets.
“The acquisition of ICQ is a strategic enhancement of our business in Russia and Eastern Europe. ICQ’s long-standing brand name and its sizeable loyal customer base together represent a very attractive opportunity to further strengthen our position in the region,” says Yuri Milner, Chief Executive Officer of DST.
ICQ was created in 1996 by Mirabilis of Israel, and AOL purchased the parent company in 1998.
Besides Russia, ICQ is a leader in Israel and the Czech Republic, where users spend over 5 hours a day on the service.
Adds Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL: “As AOL continues its turnaround effort, we’re fortunate to find a great home for ICQ with DST. DST is a leading innovator in the Internet investment space and has a significant presence in the markets where ICQ is strong. Founded and run in Israel, ICQ has been a revolutionary company on the Internet. We wish them great success as a part of DST and will be rooting for them going forward.”
Result for: one of the pioneers
The Internet video-on-demand (VOD) startup Akimbo has confirmed that it is closing its doors citing that the company has not been able to raise enough capital to remain profitable.
The company has been laying off staff and is currently looking for an acquiring company to buy up the company’s remaining assets and staff. Currently all video services run through Akimbo are running, including Homezone and MavTV.
Chief finance officer Peter Chantel is the only executive now left at the company and noted that 24 employees have been laid off in the last month.
Akimbo is one of the pioneers of networked set top boxes and as long ago as 2006, was supplying features in its service that rivaled the Apple TV or the new Roku Netflix player.
