The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China To Limit Construction Of New Solar Panel Factories (English article)
Thank goodness! That’s my first and main reaction to news that after months of tortured courtship, Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) has finally selected Tencent (HKEx: 700) as the winning suitor of its Sogou search engine, beating out rivals Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU). I have to admit the selection of Tencent came as a bit of a surprise, since I had expected Qihoo to win the contest for one of China’s older and less appreciated search engines. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Anyone who believes in a bright future for security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) will probably say that buyers of $600 million worth of newly issued company convertible bonds got a great deal based on the conversion price. The bonds may indeed be a good bargain if Qihoo can come even close to realizing some of the hopes that many investors are holding for the company following its rapid gains into the lucrative online search space formerly dominated by Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). The closing of this bond sale looks equally interesting to me, as it could indicate that Qihoo may finally sign a deal to buy Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou search engine, significantly boosting its search presence after months of protracted negotiations. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) On Cusp Of Deal To Sell iPhone By Year End (Chinese article)
Alibaba In Talks With HKEx On Ownership Structure Ahead Of IPO-Sources (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Reorganize Handset Business (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Q2 Results (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360, Sogou Search Traffic Share Up 1 Percentage Pt In July (English article)
It seems the word “imminent” can have several different meanings when it comes to M&A among Chinese Internet firms. In most cases, it means “very soon”, which seems to be the case with reports that a deal is imminent for e-commerce giant Alibaba to purchase video sharing site PPTV, also known as PPLive. Meantime, the word can also sometimes mean “a long time” or perhaps even “never”, which is the case for a deal that has seen reports appear several time for an imminent sale of Sogou, the search engine owned by web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), to several different buyers. Read Full Post…
Barely a month goes by these days without rumor of a new acquisition target for Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which suddenly seems anxious to buy up major assets in its bid to diversify beyond its core search business. The latest rumors say Baidu is close to a deal to purchase Nuomi, the group buying unit of social networking leader Renren (NYSE: RENN). As one of China’s most profitable Internet companies, Baidu is hoping to take advantage of low valuations of Chinese Internet firms, many of which are running low on cash and have had trouble attracting interest from foreign investors. Baidu, by comparison, has plenty of resources to make such purchases, including $2.5 billion in cash from 2 recent major bond sales. Read Full Post…
Investors are taking a decidedly negative view on the latest news from web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and game operator Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME), in a wave of buyer fatigue following recent rallies for these 2 Internet companies. Shares of both companies lost 10 percent or more in the latest trading day in New York, after Sohu released a very solid set of financial results and Shanda announced an acquisition that should help to boost its struggling core game business. In all fairness, both companies’ shares have rallied sharply this year for different reasons, so some might view this sell-off as a classic case of the “buy on the rumor, sell on the news” mentality. As such, the setback may be a one-time correction, and different factors will determine whether the companies resume their rallies in the weeks ahead.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Agrees To Talks On French Wine Dispute, EU Says (English article)
Alibaba In Late-Stage Talks To Buy PPTV Stake – Source (Chinese article)
Two months after reports first emerged that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) was looking to sell its Sogou search engine, it appears a sale may finally be imminent to security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). If indeed the latest reports are true, the big winner from such a sale would be Qihoo, which would combine its own so.com search service with Sogou to create a major new player with a quarter of China’s search market. China tech watchers like myself will also be happy to see this story finally disappear from the headlines, following a non-stop string of mixed signals since early May from Sohu’s fickle and frustrated founder and Chairman Charles Zhang. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Glaxo (London: GSK) Executives Admit to Bribery, Tax Crimes, China Says (English article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Final Talks To acquires Sogou For $1.4 Bln (English article)
Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Agrees To Be Acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup (PRNewswire)
