Exclusive: TikTok rival Triller explores deal to go public - sources | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Tuesday
June 06, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
TUESDAY, JUNE 06, 2023
Exclusive: TikTok rival Triller explores deal to go public - sources

Tech

Reuters
12 October, 2020, 09:45 am
Last modified: 12 October, 2020, 09:49 am

Related News

  • TikTok sues to stop ban in US state of Montana
  • How TikTok sensation Squishmallows found Warren Buffett
  • TikTok's parent has a new app: What to know about Lemon8
  • TikTok attorney: China can't get US data under plan
  • Influencers take stock of life and dreams if US bans TikTok

Exclusive: TikTok rival Triller explores deal to go public - sources

Triller has so far secured around $100 million in that round at a $1.25 billion (959.91 million pounds) valuation

Reuters
12 October, 2020, 09:45 am
Last modified: 12 October, 2020, 09:49 am
Ryan Kavanaugh, Relativity Media CEO, during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California April 27, 2015. Photo: Reuters
Ryan Kavanaugh, Relativity Media CEO, during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California April 27, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Triller Inc, a budding competitor to popular short-video app TikTok, is in discussions with blank-check acquisition companies about a merger which would take the US social media company public, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal would come as Triller seeks to capitalize on TikTok's woes. US President Donald Trump's administration has ordered TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to divest the app, citing concerns that the data of US citizens could be accessible to China's Communist Party government. TikTok has sued the US government to stave off a ban from US app stores while deal negotiations continue.

Triller, which was launched in 2015 and only has a fraction of the 100 million users that TikTok boasts in the United States, has said it hopes that the uncertainty over its rival's future will drive more influencers and users to its platform.

Triller is working with investment bank Farvahar Partners as it negotiates a potential deal with a so-called special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), the sources said. A SPAC is a shell company that raises money in an initial public offering (IPO) to merge with a privately held company which then becomes publicly traded as a result.

Triller's SPAC negotiations are happening alongside discussions with investors about a private fundraising round, led by investment bank UBS Group AG UBSG.S, in which the Los Angeles-based company is seeking to raise around $250 million, the sources said.

Triller has so far secured around $100 million in that round at a $1.25 billion (959.91 million pounds) valuation, according to the sources. It is deliberating whether to proceed with the private fundraising or opt for the deal with a SPAC, one of the sources added.

The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

Farvahar Partners and UBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SPACs have emerged as a popular IPO alternative for companies this year, providing a path to going public with less regulatory scrutiny and more certainty over the valuation that will be attained and funds that will be raised. US SPACs have raised $53.8 billion so far in 2020 through IPOs, more than the total raised in the prior seven years, according to industry tracker SPAC Research.

Triller said earlier this year it had 65 million monthly active users on its short video app, although many analytics companies have said they have not been provided enough access to independently verify Triller's figures.

Triller's celebrity users include musicians Alicia Keys, Cardi B and Eminem, and its financial backers include Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.

Triller is owned by media industry veteran Ryan Kavanaugh and healthcare executive Bobby Sarnevesht. Kavanaugh in 2004 founded US film studio Relativity Media LLC, whose films included the award-winning "The Fighter". The studio ended up filing for bankruptcy twice, in 2015 and 2018.

Sarnevesht was a partner at Bay Area Surgical Management, which lost a $37.4 million legal battle against Aetna Inc after the health insurance firm alleged in 2012 that it had been defrauded by the surgery centers operator.
BID FOR TIKTOK
Triller sued TikTok in July, alleging it infringed its patent for stitching together multiple music videos with a single audio track.

In August, Triller said it had partnered with investment firm Centricus Asset Management Ltd in a bid for TikTok. ByteDance, however, said it was not engaged in such discussions.

Trump last month said he had given his preliminary blessing to a deal that would give a 20% stake in TikTok to computer networking conglomerate Oracle Corp ORCL.N and retail giant Walmart Inc WMT.N. The negotiations subsequently stalled, as ByteDance maintained it would keep an 80% stake in TikTok, rather than distribute it to its investors.

TikTok is widely popular with US teenagers, though its advertising business is still nascent. Major companies, including Procter & Gamble Co PG.N, Danone DANO.PA and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N told Reuters last week they would keep spending on advertising with TikTok despite the uncertainty over its future.

Top News / World+Biz

Triller / TikTok / Public

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: PID
    Electricity situation, inflation two biggest reasons for people's suffering: PM
  • Photo: Collected
    Imagine if electricity generation capacity were still 3000MW like in BNP-Jamaat govt period: Nasrul Hamid
  • People suffer as severe load shedding continues countrywide
    People suffer as severe load shedding continues countrywide

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Collected
    Apple to sell Vision Pro AR headset for triple Meta's top-line price
  • A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
    Microsoft to pay $20 mln to settle US charges for violating children's privacy
  • British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks outside Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
    What's on Rishi Sunak's to-do list? A global artificial intelligence watchdog
  • Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Elon Musk's Twitter now worth $15 billion, a third of the price tag
  • Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned
    Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned
  • Starlink logo is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed Ukrainian flag in this illustration taken February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
    SpaceX's Starlink wins Pentagon contract for satellite services to Ukraine

Related News

  • TikTok sues to stop ban in US state of Montana
  • How TikTok sensation Squishmallows found Warren Buffett
  • TikTok's parent has a new app: What to know about Lemon8
  • TikTok attorney: China can't get US data under plan
  • Influencers take stock of life and dreams if US bans TikTok

Features

TBS Illustration

From graphic eyes to glass skin: 5 viral beauty trends of 2023

2h | Mode
Photo: Courtesy

Stride: Embracing affordable, inclusive, and heritage-inspired fashion

6h | Mode
Seba Prokashoni after QaziDa

Seba Prokashoni after QaziDa

9h | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

How to retain brains in the country

8h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires from football

Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires from football

20m | TBS SPORTS
Controversial referee Lahoz departs after receiving a guard of honour

Controversial referee Lahoz departs after receiving a guard of honour

20m | TBS SPORTS
What will happen if Payra thermal power plant is closed?

What will happen if Payra thermal power plant is closed?

20m | TBS Stories
Eco-friendly bags are being made from corn starch in Rajshahi

Eco-friendly bags are being made from corn starch in Rajshahi

25m | TBS Stories

Most Read

1
bKash denied permission to pay $4.10 lakh for Argentina football partnership
Banking

bKash denied permission to pay $4.10 lakh for Argentina football partnership

2
Photo: Noor-A-Alam/TBS
Splash

The Night Dhaka did NOT vibe with Anuv Jain

3
Boeing offers Biman its latest 787-10 Dreamliner
Bangladesh

Boeing offers Biman its latest 787-10 Dreamliner

4
Country's first floating solar power plant connected to national grid
Energy

Country's first floating solar power plant connected to national grid

5
Photo: TBS
Environment

Green space in Dhaka North declines 66% in 3 decades: Study

6
Photo: TBS
Energy

2nd unit of Payra power plant to shut down over coal shortage

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]