Microsoft Corp. has six weeks to hash out the details of a proposal to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok that satisfies the Trump administration and shareholders in Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. Of all the tricky questions that still need to be resolved for the deal to move forward, one stands out: How much is the video-sharing app’s business worth?
Analysts and bankers have pegged the value of TikTok's U.S. business at anywhere from $20 billion (¥2 trillion) to $50 billion, a wide range that reflects the complexity involved in separating TikTok's American and global businesses, in determining a reliable number of users and how revenue breaks out just for the markets at stake in the deal. Microsoft’s discussions also include TikTok’s business in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
TikTok’s parent is a closely held Chinese internet giant that operates a family of hit entertainment applications. ByteDance generated more than $3 billion of net profit on $17 billion in revenue last year, helping lead to a private-market valuation of more than $100 billion, making it the world’s most valuable startup, Bloomberg News reported in May.
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