TikTok parent ByteDance to allow US staff to cash out shares, signalling no rush to IPO amid China scrutiny
- ByteDance will now allow restricted shares held by US employees to vest as long as sufficient time has passed, people familiar with the matter told Reuters
- The US employees have faced heightened political and regulatory scrutiny because of concerns the firm may be sharing TikTok user data with Chinese authorities
The move is aimed at appeasing restless employees who have been waiting for an initial public offering (IPO) to profit from the shares they have been awarded as part of their compensation.
It is also an indication that ByteDance, whose worth in excess of US$200 billion makes it the world’s most valuable start-up, is in no rush to go public amid Beijing’s heightened scrutiny of China’s technology giants.
ByteDance will now allow restricted shares held by US employees to vest as long as sufficient time has passed, the sources said. The company previously set a “liquidity event”, such as an IPO or company sale, as a condition for the vesting to occur, the sources added. Once vested, the shares can be exchanged by the employees for cash in one of ByteDance’s stock buy-back programmes.
The employees were informed of the changes on Tuesday, the sources said. A ByteDance spokesperson confirmed that the company has changed its share vesting rules but declined to comment on the details.
“Our goal is to provide competitive rewards for our employees. We announced an internal solution that will make our US-based employees eligible to participate in future share buy-back programmes,” the spokesperson said.
The move applies to ByteDance’s US employees, which include about 7,000 TikTok employees.
