TikTok valued at $50 billion as investors eye up takeover

Investors of parent company ByteDance are seeking to take over the video app.

What you need to know

• ByteDance investors are trying to take over TikTok.
• It won't be cheap.
• According to reports, the video platform has been valued at a whopping $50 billion.

Investors of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, have reportedly valued the platform at a massive $50 billion amidst talks of a takeover.

As reported by Reuters:

Some investors of TikTok's parent company ByteDance seeking to take over the popular social media app are valuing it at about $50 billion, significantly more than peers such as Snap Inc (SNAP.N), according to people familiar with the matter.

ByteDance is said to be "considering a range of options" for TikTok following pressure to give up control of the app:

Beijing-based ByteDance is considering a range of options for TikTok amid pressure from the United States to relinquish control of the app, which allows users to create short videos with special effects and has become wildly popular with U.S. teenagers. The app's success has helped turn ByteDance into one of only a handful truly global Chinese conglomerates.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, has raised concerns about the safety of the personal data that TikTok handles under its Chinese owner, Reuters has previously reported.

According to the report, privately, several ByteDance investors have made a proposal to transfer majority ownership of TikTok, but the investors aren't the only ones interested, as ByteDance is said to have heard proposals from other companies and investment firms too. If the report is correct, investors value TikTok at a massive $50 billion, 50 times its $1 billion projected revenue for 2020. To put that into perspective, rival Snap is valued at 15 times its 2020 projected revenue at $33 billion.

The offer may not even be enough, as ByteDance executives have reportedly thrown around valuations even higher than $50 billion. One source said that if a deal can't be reached, ByteDance will look to divest its US operations to try and restore some trust with the U.S.

You can read the full report here.