CHINA’S third-biggest search engine expects to hold a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of as much as US$5 billion as it raises cash to close the gap with leader Baidu Inc. in the mobile market.

    Sogou, whose name means “search dog,” plans to sell about 10 percent of its shares in an IPO that will probably be held this year, chief executive officer Wang Xiaochuan said. The company, which is backed by social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Sohu.com Inc., hasn’t formally hired banks to run the listing.

    While Baidu remains the biggest provider across all platforms in China, it’s under siege after a scandal over medical advertising as smaller rivals including Sogou and Qihoo 360 Technology Co. win mobile users. Wang plans to use part of the IPO proceeds to improve search results by backing companies developing artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies.

    “Over the past year, we’ve seen a trend where people are finding themselves not trusting Baidu as much and some are even seeking a replacement,” he said.

    “So over the next year or two, as more people feel more comfortable with Sogou they’ll realize it is able to replace Baidu.”

    Sohu said a Sogou IPO isn’t on the agenda right now. Baidu accounted for 44.5 percent of mobile search queries in the third quarter, while Alibaba Group-backed Shenma had 20.8 percent and Sogou was third with 16.2 percent, according to research from iiMedia.

    Other independent researchers reported that Sogou was China’s second-largest provider to the country’s mobile users while some surveys have the company as the nation’s second-largest overall. (SD-Agencies)