TikTok Owner ByetDance Raise Share Buyback Offer For Staff

China’s Bytedance, owner of short-video platform TikTok, is launching a second share buyback for staff, but at a higher price, two sources said.

They sources said the tech giant offered eligible employees $155 per unit of their Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), up from $142 earlier in the year.

Byetdance hopes the move will motivate employees amid slowing growth and uncertainty over a plan to go public, they added.

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The unlisted company was valued at around $300 billion recently, or roughly $170 per share, in the private-equity secondary market, down from a peak of around $400 billion reached last year, sources have said.

Bytedance has launched various incentive plans this year including stock option granting programmes at a lower price amid slowing revenue growth, which fell to 70% last year from more than 100% a year earlier.

The company also launched a share buyback last month that will see it spend up to $3 billion to buy shares from its investors, which valued the company at up to $300 billion.

ByteDance, which has around 10,000 employees globally, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s Struggling Economy

The economic slowdown in China – which stems from stringent Covid curbs, the property sector crisis and Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on the tech sector – have crimped earnings, as well as valuation prospects for many Chinese tech firms.

The 10-year-old company usually launches stock option buybacks twice a year for employees, separate sources have said.

ByteDance had also considered conducting an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, different sources said.

But earlier this year, chief financial officer Julie Gao told employees at an internal meeting that the company had no timeline for an IPO, according to people who attended the meeting.