China’s top web companies are on an acquisition blitz this year. The latest big stake grab comes in the realm of search engines, with Chinese web giant Tencent confirming today that it has bought a 36.5 percent slice of search engine rival Sogou.

Sogou is the search engine and software subsidiary of Chinese web portal Sohu. It has been the subject of buy-out rumors for months, with China’s second biggest search engine, Qihoo, thought to be the buyer. But apparently not.