TikTok in the US is worth up to 50 billion USD

Business tycoons like Elon Musk may have to spend up to $50 billion to buy TikTok in the US if Chinese company ByteDance decides to sell the social networking app.

TikTok faces a ban on US soil if the US Supreme Court decides to uphold a national security law that would penalise service providers like Apple and Google if they allow downloads or updates to the app after a January 19 deadline.

TikTok in the US is valued at 40 - 50 billion USD.

ByteDance has shown no signs of selling its US app, but the Chinese government has considered a plan for X owner Musk to buy back the operations, as part of several scenarios being considered, according to Bloomberg.

If ByteDance decides to sell, potential buyers could have to pay between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to Angelo Zino, senior vice president at CFRA Research, who estimates TikTok’s U.S. operations are worth between $40 billion and $50 billion. Zino based his valuation on estimates of TikTok’s U.S. user base and revenue compared to rival apps.

TikTok has an estimated 115 million monthly mobile users in the US, slightly below Instagram's 131 million, according to market research firm Sensor Tower. That puts TikTok ahead of Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit, which have 96 million, 74 million and 32 million monthly mobile users in the US, respectively.

Zino's estimate, however, is lower than the more than $60 billion he valued TikTok at in March 2024, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the initial national security bill that President Joe Biden signed into law the following month.

Along with billionaire Elon Musk, O'Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O'Leary also plans to acquire TikTok's assets in the US.

Mr. Zino said the lower TikTok estimate was due to the current geopolitical situation and because “industry multiples have increased a little bit” since March 2024. Zino’s estimate does not include TikTok’s valuable recommendation algorithms, which the U.S. acquirer will not get as part of the deal.

Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence estimated TikTok’s US operations at between $30 billion and $35 billion, a calculation they published in July 2024, when they explained that the app was being “forced to sell.”

Finding a buyer for TikTok’s U.S. operations that can afford it and deal with the regulatory scrutiny that comes with privacy could make a sale difficult, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts note. This could also make it difficult for a buyer to expand TikTok’s advertising business.

A group of entrepreneurs including billionaire Frank McCourt and O'Leary Ventures chairman Kevin O'Leary has launched a bid to buy TikTok from ByteDance. O'Leary has previously said the group would be willing to pay up to $20 billion for TikTok's US assets without the algorithm.

Unlike Musk's bid, the O'Leary Group's offer would not be subject to regulatory scrutiny. Even so, Mr. O'Leary himself said the prospect of acquiring TikTok was slim.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tiktok-tren-dat-my-co-gia-len-toi-50-ty-usd-19225011614140236.htm