NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investment firm Centricus Asset Management Ltd and social media app Triller Inc have not submitted an offer for the TikTok assets that China’s ByteDance is seeking to a divest, a spokesman for the short video app said on Friday.
Bloomberg News reported earlier on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Centricus, which is seeking to partner with Triller and other investors, submitted a $20 billion bid to ByteDance for TikTok’s assets in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and India.
The TikTok spokesman said Centricus and Triller had not contacted the company about an offer. Centricus and Triller could not be immediately reached for comment.
ByteDance has been ordered by President Donald Trump to divest TikTok in the United States, amid security concerns over the personal data it handles. Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp are among the U.S. companies vying to acquire the assets of TikTok, which claims about 100 million monthly active users in the United States.
ByteDance is expected to pick a bidder to enter into exclusive talks soon.
(Reporting by Echo Wang in New York)
