Tencent's Deal for Sogou Stake Seen as Bid to Head Off Rival

(Beijing) – A deal between Internet companies Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Sohu.com Inc. regarding the latter's search engine branch had as much to do with business as forestalling a rival, one expert says.

Tencent said on September 16 that it is investing US$ 448 million for a 36.5 percent stake in Sogou. It also said it would integrate its struggling search business and development team into Sogou. The deal ends months of speculation that Sohu was seeking investors for Sogou.