Qihoo: More Controversy from the Year’s Hot-Potato IPO 奇虎再生波澜

Just when you thought you couldn’t get enough controversy from IPO-bound Qihoo, the security software maker has landed in the middle of another storm, which just reinforces my view that this is a company to avoid at all costs. According to Chinese media, a rival named Rising is accusing Qihoo, which is raising up to $200 million with an NYSE listing, of tailoring its flagship Qihoo 360 Safe product to effectively lock out any other security software on a person’s PC once the 360 is up and running. (English article; Chinese article) Rising held an emergency press conference to discuss the matter, similar to what Tencent (HKEx: 700) did late last year when Qihoo tried a similar stunt. Both Tencent and Rising, and undoubtedly countless others, have filed complaints with relevant Chinese authorities. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Qihoo significantly scales back its IPO or shelves it altogether after this latest in a long string of scandals, as I honestly can’t believe that any savvy investors would want to touch this company.

Bottom line: Avoid Qihoo’s IPO if you like your money

计划在纽交所上市融资2亿美元的安全软件公司奇虎，本已话题缠身，最近又陷入另一场争议。这进一步验证了我此前的判断：奇虎这家公司沾不得。中 国媒体报 道，奇虎的老对手瑞星指责奇虎通过其旗舰产品”奇虎360″，有针对性地封杀用户电脑上安装的任何其他安全软件。与去年腾讯-奇虎大战如出一辙，瑞星召开 了一场紧急新闻发布会，提出上述指控。包括腾讯、瑞星等在内的诸多业内厂商，已经向中国主管部门提出了针对奇虎的多项投诉。此次瑞星发难之後，如果奇虎大幅降低IPO融资目标，甚至搁置IPO计划，我一点也不会吃惊。我实在难以相信任何精明的投资者敢碰奇虎的股票。

一句话：如果你珍视你的钱袋，就离奇虎IPO远点