Qihoo's privatization rekindles China buyout spree

The $9.3 billion buyout of Qihoo 360 Technology Co, owner of China's second-biggest search engine, is the latest sign that mainland companies are renewing their interest in delisting from United States exchanges to sell equity locally at a higher valuation.

The $77 per American depositary receipt offer for Qihoo from an investor group including Ping An Insurance (Group) Co and Sequoia Capital China follows a non-binding agreement initially proposed six months ago. The deal is part of a string of US-listed Chinese companies that have announced privatization offers worth a record $37 billion this year as investors and executives seek to shift listings to the mainland.

While the flow of takeover bids has slowed since June as Chinese stocks fell in a rout that erased as much as $5 trillion of equity value, making a local listing less attractive, they are now coming back after markets stabilized. The buyouts have primarily targeted the US traded stock because they're cheap compared with their Chinese-traded peers.