1. Sohu CEO Talks Video Amid Deal Bonanza
CEO
Zhang
Sohu.com,
the
Chinese
online
video
and
gaming
company,
has
lately
been
at
the
center
of
a
flurry
of
attention
from
different
buyers
of
its
Sogou
search
unit,
which
remains
a
key
way
for
the
company
to
distribute
Sohu’s
content,
like
video
and
news.
Less
well
known
is
that
the
Chinese
online
video
and
gaming
company
is
looking
to
make
some
acquisitions
of
its
own.
In
WSJ,
CEO
Zhang
denied
rumors
that
the
company
was
in
talks
with
PPTV,
which
runs
streaming
online
video
service
in
China.
He
said:
“If
there’s
a
larger
acquisition…it
could
be
video,
but
we
haven’t
decided”.
Between
Baidu’s
announcement
of
an
agreement
to
acquire
Android
app
store
operator
91
Wireless
for
$1.9
billion,
and
Alibaba’s
high-­‐profile
investments
in
mapping
company
AutoNavi
and
Sina
Weibo’s
microblogging
service,
China’s
Internet
industry
is
in
the
middle
of
a
deal
bonanza.
Though
it’s
not
clear
just
what
moves
Sohu
will
make
in
such
a
heated
environment,
Zhang
was
unequivocal
about
the
importance
of
the
moves
that
are
being
made
by
China’s
Internet
companies
to
better
attract
smartphone
users.
“The
mobile
industry
could
be
10
times
larger
than
the
PC-­‐based
Internet
industry,”
he
said.
“You
know
every
company
has
to
have
a
mobile
strategy
otherwise
this
company
will
have
no
future.
It’s
real,
it’s
not
just
panic
–
[companies]
are
really
fighting
for
the
future.”
From
the
Wall
Street
Journal
For
more
information
feel
free
to
write
to
Christian
Brüel
christian.bruel@schultz-­‐co.com