ICQ, the popular instant-messaging service, was bought by AOL in 1998 for $400 Million. It is not so popular in the US but is heavily used in countries like Russia and Germany. As AOL tries to unload properties to re-organize itself, it has put ICQ on the market and would possibly get around $200 Million to $250 Million for it.

Google is reported to be one of the interested parties for ICQ. One of the major reasons for Google’s interest is to acquire the huge customer base ICQ has in Russia, a region where Google has struggled to establish itself prominently. If the transaction goes through, the 8.3 million ICQ users in Russia would provide a good base for Google to get a strong hold in the Russian market.

For the same reason, DST, the Russian internet company, is also a serious potential buyer. DST came into light when they bought a $200 Million stake in Facebook a few months ago. DST already owns a popular Russian sites like Mail.ru and VKontakte, the biggest social network in Russia.