China-based ByteDance, the owner of the app TikTok, said Tuesday that it has no immediate plans to go public in the first quarter of 2020 in Hong Kong, according to Reuters.
The Financial Times reported Monday that ByteDance was planning a Hong Kong IPO as soon as the first quarter, citing two people briefed on the plans.
What Happened
"There is absolutely zero truth to the rumors that we plan to list in Hong Kong in Q1,” a ByteDance spokesperson told Reuters.
The Financial Times reported that the company hired a team at the U.S. law firm K&L Gates to help with the IPO.
The publication said the company is planning to sell TopBuzz, its U.S. news feed business, to relax the political scrutiny the company is facing.
"They need more political heft before they go public,” a banker briefed on the plans the Financial Times. “Even if they list in Hong Kong, they still need to address the concerns of U.S. investors.”
What’s Next
ByteDance’s plans to go public are not immediate, people close to the matter told Bloomberg.
The company is focused on increasing its international operations and hiring more staff before considering a U.S. or Hong Kong IPO, the report said.
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