Tencent's acquisition of the stake in Sogou has been unconditionally approved, according to the information posted Tuesday on the official website of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).
Last September, Sogou announced that it had signed a definitive merger agreement with Tencent's subsidiaries THL A21 Limited and TitanSupernova Limited, as well as Tencent Mobility Limited.
Under the agreement, TitanSupernova will merge with Sogou in an all-cash transaction, Sogou will become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent, and Sogou's American Depositary Shares will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
It is worth mentioning that on July 7, the SAMR said the case violated the anti-monopoly law and constituted an illegal implementation of operator concentration, and fined the company involved RMB 500,000.
Following the latest news, Tencent's shares traded quickly higher in Hong Kong, rising 4 percent to HK$556.
