TikTok's Valuation and Challenges

(Reuters) – TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300 billion after a recent buyback offer, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. This comes amidst the prospect of a looming ban on the popular TikTok app in the U.S.

ByteDance has reportedly informed investors of its intent to buy back shares at roughly $180 each.

Investors of ByteDance view President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House positively for TikTok's prospects in the U.S., according to the report. During a Bloomberg BusinessWeek interview in June, Trump stated, "I’m for TikTok because you need competition. If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and Instagram." Previously, Trump labeled TikTok a national security threat but later joined the platform, which around 170 million Americans use.

A law signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on April 24 allows ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. The White House aims to end Chinese-based ownership for national security reasons, though not necessarily to ban TikTok outright.

In May, TikTok and ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court to block Biden's signed law.

Both TikTok and ByteDance did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Reuters.