TikTok owner ByteDance has embarked on a new share option buy-back programme allowing employees to offload holdings, even as it faces intensified political backlash overseas, according to two people familiar with the matter, reports the South China Morning Post. The privately-held company’s latest stock repurchase offer of $155 per share, which is at par with the price offered during the last round of buy-backs made in October, gives employees a chance to encash their stock options even without an initial public offering (IPO).
Chief financial officer Julie Gao told employees last August that the company had no plans to go public.
The steady buy-back price comes at a time when the company’s total valuation is in decline. A recent investment by Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm G42 valued ByteDance at around $220 billion, Bloomberg News reported last month, down from a peak valuation of $400 billion in 2021.