Sogou, the China-based search engine operator that counts internet companies Tencent and Sohu as its main investors, has filed to raise up to $600m in an initial public offering in the US.
Founded by Sohu, Sogou operates a search engine with 483 million monthly average users, giving it a market share of about 16% in China as of June this year, according to research firm iResearch. It posted a $35.8m net profit in the first half of 2017, from $373m in revenue.
Sohu retains a 43.7% share of Sogou, while Tencent, which invested $448m in 2013 to take a 36% stake, currently owns 37.8%. Tencent merged Sohu with its own Soso search engine and the former is the default search engine for Tencent’s QQ instant messaging platform.
Although it has not allocated precise amounts, Sogou intends to push the proceeds from the IPO into sales and marketing as well as research and development, as it looks to boost its artificial intelligence and big data capabilities.
The offering will take place on the New York Stock Exchange. JP Morgan Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Goldman Sachs (Asia), China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities and China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) are the underwriters.