TikTok Rival Triller Says Made $20 Billion Bid With Centricus for Assets

ByteDance and TikTok denied knowledge of the offer, raising questions over whether the proposed deal represented a serious bid or was a publicity stunt.

By Reuters | Updated: 29 August 2020 13:54 IST

Triller boasts 65 million monthly active users, versus TikTok's 100 million in the US

Highlights

ByteDance has been ordered to divest TikTok in the US
TikTok claims to have about 100 million monthly active users in the US
US President Donald Trump joined Triller this month

Triller executive chairman Bobby Sarnevesht said on Friday that the short-video app had made a $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,46,257 crores) offer with investment firm Centricus Asset Management for the assets of rival TikTok that China's ByteDance is seeking to a divest.

ByteDance and TikTok denied knowledge of the offer, raising questions over whether the proposed deal between two of the most popular social media apps in the United States represented a serious bid or was a publicity stunt.

ByteDance has been ordered by President Donald Trump to divest TikTok in the United States, amid security concerns over the personal data it handles.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

Microsoft and Oracle are among the US companies vying to acquire the assets of TikTok, which claims about 100 million monthly active users in the United States. The Chinese firm is expected to pick a bidder to enter into exclusive talks soon.

"We submitted an offer directly to the chairman of ByteDance through Centricus, and have confirmation it was received and is under consideration by him," Sarnevesht told Reuters.

Bloomberg News reported on the bid earlier on Friday.

Walmart Joins Microsoft Bid to Buy TikTok

A TikTok spokesman said Centricus and Triller had not contacted the company about an offer.

Sarnevesht said this was because TikTok was not involved in the talks, adding that Triller and Centricus were dealing directly with ByteDance chairman Zhang Yiming.

ByteDance, however, said it was also unaware of the offer from Triller and Centricus.

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Quits After Three Months, Just as Firm Challenges US Ban

"The company has not had any conversations with them and we are unaware of any interest," ByteDance said in a statement.

The proposed $20 billion bid will be financed by Centricus, with Triller executives running TikTok should their bid prevail, according to a person familiar with the financial details, who sought anonymity.

It was not immediately clear, however, if Centricus, with $27 billion (roughly Rs. 1,97,447 crores) in assets according to its website, could muster the resources for such a bid.

TikTok Sues Trump Administration Over US Ban, Calls It an Election Ploy

The London-based firm did not respond to a request for comment.

"We understand our offer is upsetting to some TikTok US executives, as it upsets a deal that may be more favorable to them and less favorable to the shareholders," Sarnevesht said in his statement.

"They are doing everything they can to discredit our offer and keep it from being seen as real."

Triller boasts 65 million monthly active users, versus TikTok's 100 million in the United States. Triller sought a $1.25 billion valuation in a private fundraising round this month.

While TikTok is best known for its anodyne videos of people dancing and having going viral among teenagers, US officials have expressed concern that user information could be passed to China's communist government.

Trump, a prolific user of social media, joined Triller this month.

"We've gotten assurances from people close to the White House that this is something that the administration would favour," Sarnevesht said.

"All we need TikTok to do is to give us their user data and the content, and the Triller platform can handle it."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Is this the end of the Samsung Galaxy Note series as we know it? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.