China's Bytedance to Repurchase Shares of Up to $3bn

China tech giant and TikTok owner ByteDance will splash out up to $3 billion repurchasing shares from investors, a company memo revealed on Friday.

The company plans to carry out the buyback in the next two to three months with the hope of supporting shareholders to improve their liquidity positions, valuing its shares at around $176.9 apiece, a person with direct knowledge said.

Recent trades in the private equity secondary market valued the company at $300 billion or lower, the person and a separate source said.

That compares with valuations of between $300 billion and $400 billion it received in the secondary market last year. Even at $300 billion, it is one of the world’s most valuable private companies, according to CB Insights.

Bytedance Explored IPO Options

ByteDance had explored conducting an initial public offering in Hong Kong, sources have said, but company said in April last year it had no imminent plans.

Slower economic growth, much of which is due to Covid curbs, as well as Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on the tech sector have crimped earnings prospects for many Chinese internet firms.

The company last month cut the price of stock options granted to employees by 20% from its 2021 plan.

Revenue growth in 2021 also slowed to 70% compared with more than 100% a year earlier.