ByteDance seeks to raise cash, in a deal that values TikTok’s parent at US$180 billion even as it seeks to avert ban in the United States

The Chinese company is in talks with a group of investors including Sequoia over funding that would boost its valuation to US$180 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private deal. ByteDance could then start preparing some of its biggest assets including Douyin and Toutiao for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, the people said. The company was last valued at US$140 billion, according to CB Insights.

The terms of the funding round may still change as negotiations are ongoing, the people said. A representative for ByteDance declined to comment, while a representative for Sequoia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

ByteDance, already the world’s most valuable start-up, is in the throes of fighting a Trump administration ban on TikTok in the US after the video service was labelled a national security threat. It’s now seeking US and Chinese government approvals for a deal to sell a stake in the app to Oracle and Walmart, though negotiations have bogged down during the elections and legal battles over the implementation of the ban.

That deal, which included a condition that TikTok go public within 12 months on a US exchange, won Donald Trump’s initial nod as a way to keep alive a social media phenom that’s become the go-to repository of music videos for 100 million-plus Americans. ByteDance was seeking a valuation of US$60 billion for the app, Bloomberg News reported in September.

While the clash in the US has drawn global attention, ByteDance’s services in China remain its most lucrative. Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, surpassed 600 million daily active users in August, up from 400 million at the start of the year.