After disappearing from the headlines for a few months, the ongoing search war between industry leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and challenger Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has jumped back into the news with reports that the former has sued the latter. This new lawsuit is most likely just the first phase in a new stage of the battle between these 2 companies, and I fully expect Qihoo to file a countersuit within the next few weeks. I could even be a bit sarcastic and express my surprise that Qihoo didn’t file the first suit in this rivalry, since the software security specialist is notoriously litigious and has probably sued just about every major Chinese Internet company at some point. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Baidu
More Suitors Chase Video Site PPTV
Just 2 weeks after reporting that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) had broken off talks to buy PPTV, a sudden flurry of new reports have appeared saying several other companies are bidding for the online video company, including leading e-commerce firms Alibaba and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Rather than reflecting PPTV’s attractiveness, I suspect this sudden flurry of talks is being driven by a impatience among its shareholders who have pumped big money into the money-losing company but have received little returns so far. If that’s the case, I would expect to see PPTV acquired most likely by the end of this month, though perhaps at a far lower price than the investors were originally seeking. Read Full Post…
Google Rethinks China E-Commerce
Six months after abruptly shuttering its China-based e-commerce search business, global Internet titan Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is reportedly rethinking that decision with plans to re-enter the market. The decision looks like the latest acknowledgement by Google that China is simply too big to ignore, following its high profile shuttering of its China-based general search business in 2010 after a spat with Beijing over censorship. If this latest story is true, the next logical question might be whether we could see Google return to the general China search market, where competition is suddenly starting to heat up after years of dominance by market leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Read Full Post…
News Digest: May 28, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- EU Duties On Chinese Solar Panels Losing Member State Support (English article)
- Lashou in Acquisition Talk with Renren’s (NYSE: RENN) Nuomi – Source (English article)
- Japan’s Line Aims For No.2 in China’s Mobile IM Market (English article)
- Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi Completes PPS Merger, To Cut 5 Pct Staff (Chinese article)
- Shanghai Bans “Fare Boosting” Software For Taxis (Chinese article)
IPTV Gets Boost, VNOs Coming Soon
China’s sluggish media and telecoms sectors are getting a couple of new boosts from different directions, as part of Beijing’s bid to breathe new life into a space now dominated by slow-moving state-run behemoths. The first of those boosts has one such behemoth, CCTV, in a new joint venture to promote Internet protocol television (IPTV) with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China’s second largest media company. The second is a bit more incremental, with media reporting that Beijing has just issued a formal pilot plan for setting up the nation’s first batch of virtual network operators (VNO). Read Full Post…
Sohu Seeking Success With Baidu?
There’s lots to say about word that Internet portal operator Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is selling its Sogou search unit to industry leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), starting with the strong possibility that this latest in a sudden string of rumors about Sogou may be true. Sogou’s chief executive has already said publicly the unit was for sale, naming Baidu as one of the leading bidders. The only slight contradiction in the mix comes from comments by Charles Zhang in an interview late last week, which I’ll return to shortly. Read Full Post…
News Digest: May 18-20, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 18-20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Acquires Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou – Source (English article)
- Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Reports Q1 Results (PRNewswire)
- BYD (HKEx: 1211) Supplies Hong Kong With First Electric Taxis (Businesswire)
- European Union To Fine Indian, Chinese Airlines Over Emissions (English article)
- Sinopec Engineering, Galaxy Securities Raised over $1Bln Each in IPO (English article)
M&A Heats Up With Sohu, PPTV Talk
I’ve written too much recently about neglected web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), but the latest rumors of a potential tie-up between the company and PPTV, operator of one of China’s leading video websites, are just too irresistible for me to ignore. Those rumors say Sohu is in talks to combine its own online video business with PPTV to create one of the nation’s top 3 players. News of such talks comes just a couple of weeks after leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) purchased another top video site, PPS, for $370 million, and indicates a new wave of consolidation in China’s Internet space may be gaining momentum. Read Full Post…
After Years of Waiting, Internet Consolidation Starts
After years of inactivity, China’s Internet sector has seen a sudden flurry of M&A deals with potential to consolidate the fragmented space and create some truly world class companies that could one day compete with the likes of Amazon and Google. While commercial factors are mostly behind this sudden M&A spring, Beijing could also play a limited role by encouraging more consolidation, helping to lay the foundation for a vibrant and sustainable Internet sector that could become a global leader. Read Full Post…
Sohu: On The Breakup Path?
A sudden flurry of activity has caught my attention at Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), one of China’s oldest Internet portals, which has splashed into the headlines several times in the last couple of months after years of being ignored by investors. What has most caught my attention most this time around was a comment in one of the recent reports that Sohu founder and Chairman Charles Zhang was recently experiencing some kind of emotional fatigue, which leads me to wonder if the company may be headed for a breakup. Read Full Post…
Alibaba Mobile Drive Leads To AutoNavi
Less than 2 weeks after buying a major stake in leading Chinese microblogging site Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, e-commerce leader Alibaba is back on the acquisition track with word that it’s on the cusp of another deal to buy a similar strategic stake in mapping services firm AutoNavi (Nasdaq: AMAP). While this newest deal would be a bit smaller than the Weibo tie-up, it marks the latest transaction in a nascent M&A wave among China tech firms that looks set to gain momentum during the rest of the year. Read Full Post…