Digital Sky Technologies Limited will buy the ICQ chat service from AOL for $187 million, the companies said Wednesday.
The purchase of ICQ is a strategic step in the development of DST's business in Russia and Eastern Europe, Yury Milner, DST's founder, said in a statement. ICQ's long history and large base of loyal customers provide a huge opportunity for further strengthening DST's position in the region, he said.
"AOL will continue working to restructure our business, and we are very glad to find a worthy home for ICQ in DST," said Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL.
The ICQ sale may close in the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing. If it isn’t completed by Aug. 28, a date that may be extended to April 2011, either group can back out without penalty, according to the filing. Closely held Digital Sky invested $300 million in top social network Facebook last year.
ICQ was created in 1996 by Israeli students and was sold in 1998 to AOL. Among the other companies competing for ICQ were China's Tencent, which recently became a shareholder in DST, and Prof-Media, which owns Rambler.
ICQ’s selling price was at the low end of an estimated $200 million to $300 million, said John Blackledge, a New York-based Credit Suisse analyst.
(Vedomosti, Bloomberg)