China’s ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has offered to buy back shares from its employees outside of the United States. The plan involves an offer of $160 per share, which is the same as an offer made to current and former U.S. employees in October. According to a Reuters report, ByteDance is looking to buy at least $300 million worth of stock at $160 per share. This offer values the company at $223.5 billion, which is about 26% lower than its valuation a year earlier. In a previous buyback program offered to its non-U.S. employees, ByteDance was valued at $300 billion.
The $160 price is higher than the $155 price set in an earlier April buyback. A ByteDance spokesperson confirmed the share buyback plan for employees outside the U.S. and stated that it was aimed at providing liquidity options for staff through such programs. ByteDance has been offering buyback programs twice a year to eligible current and former staff since 2017.
Buybacks enable employees to cash in their shares without having to wait for the company to go public. Although an initial public offering for ByteDance has been highly anticipated for years, the company has stated that it has no immediate plans amid Beijing’s heightened scrutiny of China’s technology giants.