Qihoo 360 Technology, China's third most-popular Internet company, plans to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering, the company said in a filing with U.S. regulators on Monday.
UBS Investment Bank and Citi are leading underwriters on the IPO. No further details of the offering of American depositary shares (ADS) were immediately available.
Qihoo 360 said it was China's Number 3 Internet company by user base and the leading provider of Internet and mobile security products. Its 360 Safe Browser is the second most popular after Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the company said, citing iResearch.
Qihoo 360's IPO would come on the heels of a rush of similar Chinese Internet companies in the fourth quarter of 2010, such as online video company Youku.com and Internet retailer Dangdang.
Although not all Chinese web companies have offered attractive financials as they listed on U.S. exchange, many of them saw shares soar in their debut as investors clamor to tap into the fast-growing market.
Qihoo 360's total revenue grew 78.5 percent to $57.7 million in 2010 from the year before and almost doubled from 2008 to 2009, the filing showed.
The company became profitable in 2009 and its net income more than doubled year-on-year to $8.5 million as of December 31, 2010. Net income attributable to shareholders was 5 cents per share in 2010, compared with 3 cents in 2009 and a 7 cent loss the year before.
Qihoo 360 said it planned to use the proceeds from the IPO for research and development and acquisition of technologies, products or businesses.
The company expects its ADSs to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "QIHU".
