What happened Shares of Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) were climbing on a report that Tencent (OTC: TCEHY) was set to complete its acquisition of Sogou. This will pave the way for a payday for Sohu.com, the Chinese online media company that owns a third of Sogou. As of 1:05 p.m. EDT, the stock was up 13.6%. Image source: Getty Images. So what According to an exclusive report from Reuters, China's antitrust regulator had cleared the way for Tencent to complete its acquisition of Sogou, China's No. 3 search engine. Prior to the agreement to acquire all of Sogou, Tencent had controlled 39.5% of the business. Sohu.com owns a third of the business and will receive $1.16 billion in the buyout, a significant payout for Sohu, as its market cap is currently just $745 million. The deal had been in doubt after the antitrust regulator, State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), had cracked down on tech giants like Alibaba, signaling a tougher stance against market concentration in the tech and online-media sectors. The regulator is even forcing Alibaba to sell off some of its media assets, but it cleared the Tencent-Sogou deal, as long as Tencent sets up a monitor to ensure data security. Now what Excluding Sogou, Sohu is a fast-growing business, coming off a quarter where it posted 34% revenue growth to $253 million, driven by its online gaming business, where revenue grew 49% to $196 million. On the bottom line, the company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.33, making the stock look dirt cheap as shares are still less than $20. Sohu also looks poised to benefit from the general antitrust pressure on tech giants like Alibaba, which should help even the playing field for small-cap Chinese tech stocks, and the cash infusion of $1.16 billion should only boost its prospects. If Sohu can keep up its performance from the fourth quarter, the stock should move higher from here. 10 stocks we like better than Sohu.comWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Sohu.com wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2021 Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends Sohu.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source