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Update: Fake press release touts Google acquisition that didn’t really happen

CEO: "The fake release likely came from "a stock promoter with a dubious interest."

Updated 9:20am Pacific: We’ve corrected this story. According to reports, Google has not acquired Icoa. We regret the error.

Icoa CEO George Strouthopoulos is denying reports that Google has acquired his company. “This is NOT TRUE!! Never had any discussions with any potential acquirers!! This is absolutely false!” he wrote in an email to TechCrunch.

While there’s no official denial from Google yet, company sources have also told AllThingsD that the report isn’t true.

News of the acquisition came in the form of a press release on PRweb, with no accompanying announcement from Google or Icoa. Strouthopoulos says the fake release likely came from “a stock promoter with a dubious interest.”

The press release purported to announce that Google had acquired Icoa, a company that offers Wi-Fi service in places like restaurants, hotels, and airports.

Icoa says it manages over 500,000 logins a month from users accessing its hotspots. That would be a pretty significant captive audience for an ad-based company like Google to target.

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