Bytedance weighs selling stake in Tiktok’s Indian arm to Reliance to ease app ban
Tiktok parent Bytedance is said to be in talks with India’s Reliance about a investment in the operations of Tiktok in the region, as it seeks to end the government’s app ban.
Conversations between the two companies began late last month but have yet to reach a deal, sources told Techcrunch.
In June the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including Tiktok and Wechat, accusing them of threatening its “sovereignty and integrity” following border skirmishes with China.
Reliance, Bytedance and Tiktok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tiktok and Wechat are also facing bans in the US, after US President Donald Trump said American firms would be banned from doing business with the companies within 45 days.
Bytedance is currently in talks with Microsoft to offload its US arm, a deal which is sanctioned by Trump if it can be completed before 15 September.
Twitter is also said to have expressed interest in making a deal for Tiktok, despite the social media network’s market value being smaller than Tiktok’s rumoured $50bn price tag.
Before the ban, India was Tiktok’s largest market outside of China with more than 200m users. Meanwhile Bytedance has over 2,000 people employed in the country.
One source told Techcrunch that Tiktok’s business in India is being valued at more than $3bn, casting doubt on the potential $50bn US valuation where Tiktok has around 100m users.
Reliance is India’s most valuable company, and has recently taken a number of large investments in its technology business.
Google put $4.5bn into Reliance’s Jio unit last month, while Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund invested $1.5bn in June.