The Chinese search engine, Baidu.com, has attracted Google’s eye and is taking their company public, to possibly raise interest in securing a buyout of the property.
According to Threadwatch.org, Baidu has filed an IPO with the SEC in a move some see this move as being similar to PayPal’s before they were bought by eBay: going public in order to increase the amount of potential buyout bids.
However, there has been news of Google being interested in buying a controlling share of Baidu.com. Google currently owns 4% of the Chinese search engine and has made it known that it would like to enter the Chinese search market this year. Evidently, Google’s grand entrance depends a lot on the talks between Baidu and themselves. An article pointed out by Aaron Wall of SEOBook reveals:
There are two options for Google, said Schmidt. One is that Google holds shares of Baidu and the other is that both sides deepen cooperation, and Google would hold more Baidu’s stakes or even set up a joint venture. This may lead to Google’s takeover of Baidu, turning Baidu into its subsidiary in China.
Will Google enter the Chinese market owning/controlling the Baidu property, or will it be a joint venture between the two? Baidu indicates in their filing that it was looking to raise $80 million, a price tag well within Google’s range.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
