Monday, November 26, 2012

Google's $400 million Wi-Fi buy a hoax




A spate of press reports on Monday heralded Google's latest takeover deal: An apparent $400 million purchase of ICOA, a Warwick, R.I., company that makes Wi-Fi hotspots for public areas like parks and airports.  Not so fast, ICOA executives said soon after. Turns out the press release announcing the deal was a hoax.

The official-looking notice appeared on PRWeb, a distributor of press releases and other corporate announcements. The story was then reported by several news organizations, including the Associated Press, as well as tech blogs, such as TechCrunch.

Then the retractions began pouring in, as ICOA and people familiar with Google's operations began to deny the report. The press release has since been taken down by PRWeb. A representative from the company did not respond to a request for comment. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) also declined to comment.....

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