Google Sells Off Baidu Stake

Google, the world’s leading search engine, on May 25 sold off its approximately 2 percent stake in rival search engine Baidu.com, Reuters reports via MSN Money.

The news comes from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings released Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Google filed a form 144 insider stock registration with the SEC that described the sale of its 749,625 Baidu Class A ordinary shares, Reuters reports.

Google couldn’t legally sell its Baidu shares after its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2005 because it was a pre-IPO insider, according to Reuters.

Google spokeswoman Debbie Frost said, “We have disposed of our modest investment in Baidu. It has always been our goal to grow our own successful business in China, and we are very focused on that,” according to Reuters.

On the date of the sale, Google’s stake in Baidu was worth about $63 million, and the search heavy paid $5 million for the share in June 2004, Reuters reports.

Google is by far the global leader in search, but Baidu currently owns the Chinese search space. Though Google at one time was considered a potential Baidu buyer, it is now attempting to make its own name in the country with its Google.cn Chinese-language search site, Reuters reports.

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