Sources: ByteDance explores sale of TikTok in India to rival Glance

“ByteDance is said to be exploring a sale of the India operations of TikTok to rival unicorn Glance, in an attempt to resuscitate the once thriving short-video-sharing app that’s been banned indefinitely in the South Asian nation,” Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Details:

• SoftBank, a backer of Glance’s parent firm InMobi, is said to have started the talks.
• If the discussion progresses, the Indian government will look to keep TikTok’s user data and technology from the country within its borders, the people shared.

Context:

• SoftBank has been aiming to salvage TikTok’s India assets and has been looking for local partners for the possible deal.
• The potential partner, Glance, is a mobile content platform that operates Roposo, a short-video app that saw a surge in downloads following TikTok’s India ban.