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Chinese Internet Portal Sohu.com to Take over Chinaren.com
Beijing-based Internet company Sohu.com, which runs one of China's three most popular portals, plans to buy Chinaren.com, another company based in the Chinese capital, local media said on Tuesday.
A news website operated by Sina.com, one of Sohu.com's main competitors, said Sohu.com chief executive Charles Zhang did not directly deny that a deal was in the works.
"Sohu has all along valued Internet companies with special technology... and excellent management teams, but we haven't completed any acquisition deals yet," Zhang said according to the website.
The Sina.com website said the acquisition would lead to the lay-off of one third of Chinaren.com's 200 staff.
Chinaren.com had established a signficiant following among China's growing online population with its chatrooms.
Chinese web users almost doubled in the first six months of the year to 16.9 million.
Despite the rapid growth, many observers expect consolidation to take place in the coming months and years, driven mainly by a lack of funding for dotcom startups.
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