Mukesh Ambani’s RIL may acquire TikTok’s India business, talks on: Report
According to a report, Reliance and ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, have held discussions over it but nothing final or official has yet come out.
New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) may buyout Chinese social media giant TikTok’s India business as initial talks are underway between the two, reports said.
TikTok along with 59 Chinese apps were recently banned by Govt of India over security and data privacy concerns.
This comes days after reports claimed that TikTok was mulling to sell its assets in US to local business tycoons, following President Trump’s warning.
According to a report by TechCrunch, Reliance and ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, have held discussions over it but nothing final or official has yet come out.
TikTok chief executive officer (CEO) Kevin Mayer has reportedly approached senior RIL executives to gauge if the oil-to-telecom conglomerate is interested in picking up a stake in the app’s India unit. Following this, RIL and its digital arm Jio’s corporate development, strategy and M&A teams are weighing if any investment or acquisition is worthwhile at this stage
If the deal comes through, it will give impetus to oil-to-retail conglomerate in expanding its digital presence. Reliance Jio has already penetrated deep in the country and with TikTok, experts believe, it would multiply company’s reach to people by manifold.
Before the ban in June, TikTok India had over 200 million subscribers and the company was valued at $3 billion.
Microsoft mulling to buyout TikTok in US
In US, after President Donald Trump vowed to ban the video sharing app in America, Microsoft reportedly engaged in talks with the TikTok to buyout its US-based operations. TikTok has about 80 million monthly users in US.