In this undated file photo, an employee comes out of the Tencent building in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (CHEN YIHANG / CHINA DAILY)

Sogou Inc said on Tuesday shareholder Tencent Holdings Ltd would take the web search firm private in a US$3.5 billion deal, making it the latest Chinese mainland company to exit US markets as tensions mount between the world’s two largest economies.

US-listed shares of Sogou were up about 3 percent in premarket trading.

The move comes a day after mainland social network Weibo’s owner Sina Corp said it would be taken private in a US$2.6 billion deal

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The move comes a day after mainland social network Weibo’s owner Sina Corp said it would be taken private in a US$2.6 billion deal. Rival e-commerce firms Alibaba and JD.com have also sought to return to equity markets closer home by making secondary listings in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The offer price represents a premium of 56.5 percent to Sogou’s close on July 24, the last trading day before Tencent offered to take it private.

Controlling stakeholder Sohu.com Inc said it would receive about US$1.18 billion in cash from Tencent as part of the deal, sending its shares up about 14 percent in premarket trading.

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Tencent currently owns a 39.2 percent stake in Sogou, according to a letter it sent to Sogou shareholders in July.

Sogou, which was founded in 2005 and debuted on the US market in November 2017, generates revenue mainly through search advertising services.

Goldman Sachs( Asia) is acting as financial adviser to Tencent on the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

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