Japan's SoftBank Group is searching for local investors to partner with in the possible acquisition of TikTok's India operations, including the top executives of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, sources said.
While Walmart, Microsoft, and Oracle are the leading candidates for the buyout of TikTok's U.S., New Zealand, and Australia business, parent company ByteDance is rallying a group of investors for TikTok's India portfolio, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
Softbank, the Japanese holding group, already controls a minority share in ByteDance through its Vision Fund. ByteDance, with over $100 billion in capital, is aggressively looking for companies to take over TikTok's business in other countries after local governments imposed a ban on the app, citing worries on national security and data privacy.
The Indian government ordered an immediate ban of Tiktok and 58 other apps following a deadly border confrontation between Chinese and Indian troopers in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control in June.
Prior to the ban, India was the most important and biggest market for the $3 billion Chinese social media app, with more than 200 million users.
Reliance Jio, controlled by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is being considered as another top contender for the TikTok acquisition as the group does not operate any social media business yet. While talks have died down, SoftBank is still evaluating its buyout options, reports said.
Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's founder, has a well-established network of local investments and business tie-ups in India. Local startups that Son has funded include ride-hailing service Ola Cabs, e-commerce group Snapdeal.com, and hotel-booking platform Oyo Rooms.
Meanwhile, in Washington, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he will ban TikTok and ordered ByteDance to dispose of its business in the country due to data privacy and national security issues.
