WeChat Parent Tencent Makes Search Investment
Tencent Holdings Ltd. invested $448 million for a minority share in Chinese search engine Sogou, the latest example of how China’s largest Internet companies are spending sizable amounts to expand their product arsenals.
The deal marks the end of months of talks between Sohu.com Inc. and potential suitors for its Sogou search unit.
Tencent’s investment, which gives it a 36.5 percent stake in Sogou, is also in part designed to keep rivals such as Baidu Inc. and Qihoo 360 Technology Co. from getting their hands on China’s third-largest search engine by traffic, according to research firm CNZZ.