TikTok owner ByteDance seeking $60 billion valuation in stake sale: Report

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is reportedly seeking a valuation of $60 billion for its video-sharing app as Oracle and Walmart take stakes in it. According to a Bloomberg report, Oracle and Walmart will buy 12.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent stake respectively in newly established TikTok Global and both companies would pay a combined $20 billion if they agree to the proposed valuation.

US President Donald Trump has announced his support for the proposed TikTok deal with Oracle and Walmart for the US operations of the Chinese social media app. Last month, Trump signed an executive order banning American citizens and businesses from doing any transaction with TikTok, its parent company ByteDance Ltd., and messaging app WeChat after 45 days.

The US Department of Commerce later issued an order to prohibit Americans from downloading TikTok or WeChat from App Store or Google’s Play Store starting September 20. The department stated that the new order will prohibit any provision of service to distribute or maintain WeChat or TikTok, constituent code or application updates through an online mobile application store in the US. 

Read: Trump Gives His 'blessings' To TikTok Deal With Oracle, Walmart One After Download Ban

Read: TikTok Files Lawsuit In Federal Court To Block US Ban, Cites Freedom Of Speech

The department stressed that though the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok “are not identical, they are similar.” It claimed that both apps are subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the Chinese Communist Party, making it “unacceptable risks to our national security.”

“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

ByteDance opposes ban

ByteDance has called the ban as a violation of  First Amendment free-speech rights as millions of Americans express themselves on the online platform. ByteDance challenged the order in a federal court, accusing the administration of targeting the company due to political reasons rather than the “threats” mentioned by the US Department of Commerce.

Read: TikTok Says Already Committed To US Data Security Oversight At 'unprecedented Levels'

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