US President Donald Trump shows a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, September 25, 2025. | Photocredit: Yuri Gripas
The price tag of $ 14 billion proposed for the American business value of Tiktok, it is more like a hidden old energy or food company than as a leading worldwide social media company.
The rough estimate, cited by Vice President JD Vance on Thursday, is far below the previous projections that came closer to $ 40 billion. VANCE’s comments when President Donald Trump came up with a plan for the American investors for the American operation of the Chinese internet company Bytedance Ltd.
Vance admitted that the buyers will “ultimately” determine the amount paid. While expected buyers, including Oracle Corp. And Silver Lake Management LLC, probably a low-ball appreciation would welcome, can find it funny, if not offensive, bytedance and his existing investors.
Ashwin Binwani, founder of Alpha Binwani Capital, said that the proposal could be “the most undervalued technical acquisition of the decade.” He estimated that the floating figure reflects a third of the actual value of Tiktok. “Because of every important financial metric and peer comparison, this price tag seems dramatically wrong with reality.”
The platform for sharing video parts of Tiktok is one of the most popular American social media properties based on the average daily app use. Its influence has also been felt in the proliferation of competing short-video services such as Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts.
The appreciation of it has always been difficult, especially in view of the complexity of the coveted content algorithm of the app. But even according to the most conservative estimates, the American operation – the most lucrative market in the company with 170 million active users – generates turnover north of $ 10 billion a year.
So with that appreciation of $ 14 billion, Tiktok US would have a price-to-sales ratio of approximately 1.4 times, in line with adult, low-growing companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and General Mills Inc. By way of comparison, Instagram Operator Meta Platforms Inc. Traded about 10 times selling while YouTube Parent Sales is 80 times in the course of 10 times.
“The proposed value looks like a daylight robbery,” said Vey-Sern Ling, senior Equity advisor for Asia Technology at Union Bancaire Privee.
The deal, which has to be completed within 120 days, would play us in a new joint venture where Bytedance’s interest would be reduced to less than 20 percent to satisfy US national security problems. Although Trump said that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has given his blessing, Beijing still has to publicly say whether it has given approval.
“It’s like putting a gun on Bytedance and says” Sales or stop or you stop, “said Alvin Foo, a venture partner at Zero2launch. A lot remains uncertain, including who will run and exploit the service, since none of the proposed buyers are internet or consumer -oriented companies.” Ask if the sale will continue. “
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Published on September 26, 2025
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