Gawker, the parent company behind tech site Gizmodo, has said this weekend that they have reached an agreement with authorities in California where they will give all material relevant to the investigation, in exchange for receiving back items seized from editor Jason Chen’s home.
In April, Gizmodo leaked a prototype iPhone 4 model to the world, and within the month, California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team had seized Chen’s computers, working on a warrant from the Superior Court of San Mateo.
The iPhone 4 model was dropped in a bar by Apple developer Gray Powell, and eventually purchased by Gizmodo for $5000 USD.
On request from Apple, the district attorney’s office had opened an investigation into whether Gawker had done anything illegal in the matter.
The warrant has been withdrawn now, with Chen’s belongings returned to him.
“Mr. Chen and Gizmodo have agreed to cooperate with our investigation,” adds Chris Feasel, deputy district attorney for San Mateo County.
Result for: parent company
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: parent company
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.”
