China’s top market regulator approves Tencent‘s acquisition of Sogou
中国最高市场监管机构批准腾讯收购搜狗
A bid by Chinese technology giant Tencent to acquire the country’s second-largest search engine Sogou was granted unconditional approval, according to public information released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Tuesday.
The takeover will make Sogou a direct and fully owned subsidiary of Tencent, and the search engine, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017, is expected to delist after the deal.
The approval had sent some surprise among Chinese netizens, particularly after the authorities seemed to ramp up oversight against monopolies lately by barring acquisitions submitted by some internet platforms.
中国的反垄断监督机构已经批准科技巨头腾讯控股收购在美国上市的搜索引擎搜狗，这对中国的大型科技公司来说是一个积极的信号，因为中国最近一直在加强对该行业的审查。
周二，国家市场监督管理总局反垄断局网站公布了批准该交易的决定，并指出，监管机构对该交易的审查已于周一结束。
去年，腾讯首次寻求将中国第二大搜索引擎私有化，以每股9美元的价格收购搜狗，后者的技术将有助于为腾讯的产品带来竞争优势。这也可能帮助腾讯撼动长期由百度主导的搜索引擎市场，同时抵御来自字节跳动的新挑战。
自2013年以来，腾讯一直是搜狗的最大股东，当时它购买了搜狗36.5%的股份，并将该搜索引擎与自己的“搜搜”合并。国家统计局上周对腾讯进行了罚款，因为它当时没有报告这项交易，但该监督机构明确表示，这家科技巨头的举动并没有限制市场竞争。
