Media reports said that Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd (NYSE: QIHU) planned to wholly acquire Sogou and has reached cooperative framework. The news aroused wide attention but was immediately denied by CEO of the acquisition target.
In early 2013, rampant talks revealed possible capital cooperation between both parties, saying that Qihoo 360 aimed to challenge Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) through consolidating their market share while Sogou was looking for more financing and higher evaluation.
Interestingly, among several investment cases reported earlier this year, Baidu has confirmed acquisition of PPS and Alibaba Group has invested in Sina Weibo. Only cooperation between Qihoo 360 and Sogou is left for confirmation.
Insiders commonly believed that Qihoo 360 is more likely to kick off strategic investment in Sogou instead of whole acquisition.
