Chinese search engine Baidu raised $1.5 billion in one fell swoop from its first dollar bond, making it one of the biggest debut bonds from a private sector company out of Asia.
Nasdaq-listed Baidu was co-founded by Robin Li, who is one of China’s richest men and the chief executive of Baidu. The company has a dominant presence in the online search industry and is often referred to as the Google of China. However, it has recently faced stiffer competition from upstart Qihoo, which has launched its own search engine.
The company is sitting on plenty of cash about $3.4 billion in cash or equivalents and has...