What happened
Shares of Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU 3.41%) were up 14.6% as of 1:30 p.m. EDT Friday after its Sogou.com subsidiary filed its F-1 registration statement with the U.S. SEC related to its impending initial public offering (IPO).
IMAGE SOURCE: SOHU.COM
So what
To be fair, Sohu announced in late July that Sogou -- which is China's third-most popular internet search engine and comprised around 46% of Sohu's total revenue last quarter -- was planning to submit a confidential draft registration statement for its IPO. But investors received little additional information on the IPO at the time. And the confirmation of its formal F-1 filing today has investors excited for the prospects of the move, which should allow the two companies to better focus on fostering their respective businesses.
Now what
Sogou still hasn't determined the number of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) to be offered or the price range of its proposed IPO. But it did reveal that it has applied to have its ADSs listed on the New York Stock Exchange trading under the symbol "SOGO."
In the meantime, Sohu should be slated to release its third-quarter results later this month, so you can bet investors will be prodding the company for more information on Sogou's IPO then. But despite a lack of financial detail surrounding the spinoff for now, it's no surprise to see Sohu shares climbing today in response.
