The SoftBank Group is apparently also eyeing to bid on TikTok‘s assets in India. According to a report from the Economic Times, the group is looking into assembling a group of bidders and has also been actively looking for local partners as well.
Sources close to the matter revealed the information regarding the Japanese conglomerate’s interest. Notably, SoftBank already has a stake in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Ltd. Reportedly, the group has also been in talks with Indian telecom giants like Reliance Jio, and Bharti Airtel, according to industry insiders. It seems that SoftBank is still exploring options.
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At the moment, SoftBank, Bytedance, Reliance, and Bharti Airtel have declined to comment on the matter. For those unaware, TikTok is considering selling its operations in multiple countries after governments like India and the US have placed a ban on the app. The ban arrived after it was claimed that sensitive user data was being sent to the Chinese government. In India, the anti Chinese sentiment has been growing in recent times due to military clashes along the Indo-China borders.
Similarly, in the US, the Trump administration banned the TikTok app and ordered the company to sell its assets within the country, citing national security concerns. While SoftBank only holds a minor stake in ByteDance, it has been actively participating in negotiations. The Japanese group had initially brought in Walmart as the main investor in a group of bidders in the US. Although that failed due to the US Government insisting on a tech company leading the investments. So, we will have to wait a while and see how the situation plays out.
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