ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming is reconsidering his options and weighing the implications of Beijing’s involvement in TikTok sale, Bloomberg reported.
The sale negotiations of the ByteDance-owned short-video app got another twist as China updated its more-than-a-decade-old export rules to include various technologies, including one “that sounded much like TikTok’s personalized recommendation engine”.
The report, citing unnamed sources, said the company is discussing if it’s possible to make a deal that can win approval from both Beijing and Washington.
ByteDance had earlier said it will “strictly follow” the new technology export rules and handle its “related export businesses”.
Last week, Yiming said that the company is “moving quickly” to resolve issues in the US and India. In a letter, the contents of which have been reviewed by ET, Yiming said that though he cannot share more details on the resolution at this point, the “solution” will be in the interest of users, creators and partners.
The development also comes within a week of TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer quitting the company–less than four months after he took up the role.
Retail behemoth Walmart too is in the race to buy TikTok after it announced that it will join Microsoft to buy the ByteDance-owned hugely popular short-video app.
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