HONG KONG, Aug 28 (V7N) - ByteDance, the Chinese technology giant and owner of the popular short-video app TikTok, is preparing to launch a new employee share buyback program that will value the company at more than $330 billion. This move reflects ByteDance’s continued strong revenue growth and solidifies its position as one of the world’s largest social media companies by revenue.

According to sources familiar with the matter, ByteDance plans to offer current employees $200.41 per share in the upcoming buyback, marking a 5.5% increase from the $189.90 per share price offered in the previous buyback about six months ago, which valued the company at approximately $315 billion. The new buyback is expected to be launched this autumn.

ByteDance’s recent financial performance has been impressive, with its second-quarter revenue rising 25% year-on-year to approximately $48 billion. The majority of this revenue comes from the Chinese market, even as ByteDance faces ongoing political pressure to divest its U.S. operations. This surge in revenue helped ByteDance overtake Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), whose second-quarter revenue stood at $42.3 billion, making ByteDance the world’s top social media company by sales.

The company has used its own balance sheet to fund these biannual buybacks, unlike many other late-stage private companies that rely on external investor capital for similar programs. These buybacks provide liquidity to employees in the privately held company without requiring an initial public offering (IPO), reflecting ByteDance’s financial flexibility and strong profit margins.

ByteDance did not immediately comment on the details of the buyback or the valuation.

END/WD/AJ/