Exclusive | IPO plan of TikTok owner ByteDance is set back by US-China tensions, sources say
- TikTok and Douyin owner ByteDance faces difficulties in restructuring to meet US and China regulations, sources said
- Demands from various stakeholders are also complicating the company’s plan to go public
ByteDance, the developer of TikTok and its Chinese sibling app Douyin, has put its initial public offering plan on the back burner for now, as it has difficulties coming up with a business structure that can please both Beijing and Washington, according to two people familiar with the matter.
One of the sources, who declined to be identified as the information is not public, said the Chinese start-up has yet to find a satisfactory way to restructure its business to meet regulatory requirements in China and the US. One major challenge lies in separating Douyin’s China-based operations from TikTok’s global operations because both apps share the same algorithm, the person said.
Meanwhile, ByteDance’s management has also found it hard to balance the interests of various stakeholders. “Many people with different agendas are trying to have a say in the IPO plan,” the person said.
Another source, a Beijing-based government official involved in regulating ByteDance who declined to be named, said the company has to postpone its plan to go public because of the US-China geopolitical tensions.
“ByteDance’s IPO plan will involve US investors and the US market, but the broad China-US mood is unfavourable,” the person said.
ByteDance and TikTok declined to comment on this article on Saturday.
