Sogou plans to raise $5b in US offering

Rivals snapping at the heels of Baidu following scandal over medical ads

The head of China's third-biggest search engine Sogou said he expects his company to launch a US initial public offering with a valuation of as much as $5 billion - as it raises cash to close the gap with leader Baidu Inc in the mobile market.

Sogou, whose name means "search dog," plans to sell about 10 percent of its shares in an IPO that will probably be held this year, Chief Executive Officer Wang Xiaochuan said in an interview. The company, which is backed by social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and Sohu.com Inc, hasn't formally hired banks to run the listing. Sohu shares rose the most in 10 months on Wednesday.