Reliance Jio In Talks To Buy TikTok India: Is It A Good Move?

TikTok has been under the radar for a while now. Following the ban in India, the US government has passed a similar move, giving the ByteDance-owned company 45 days to change ownership. There were talks about Microsoft acquiring TikTok, at least the operations in the US. It looks like Reliance Jio is making a similar move, to acquire TikTok India.

Reliance Buying TikTok India

The report comes from TechCrunch, which suggests that ByteDance is currently in early talks with Reliance Industries Limited for backing TikTok in India. The report suggests that the two companies have been in talks since late last month and a deal is yet to be made. Sources have revealed that TikTok's business in India is valued at more than $3 billion. Neither of the companies has commented yet.

Presently, ByteDance has been struggling to retain its employees in India, including the executives at the firm. The Chinese company has assured its employees that it's in talks with the Indian government to address the concerns regarding privacy and security of TikTok, and it doesn't wish to layoff people.

Apart from Reliance, Microsoft is another contender, interested to acquire TikTok. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have received an executive order from the US government, banning citizens to have any financial interaction with the Chinese company. The US too has been urging ByteDance to sell the popular platform to an American company, and Microsoft has been one of the top contenders.

Is It A Good Move?

India was TikTok's largest market outside China. Following the ban on the popular short video app, a lot of Indian alternative apps emerged. These include apps like Roposo, Moj, Josh, Mitron, and more. If TikTok comes back, these apps might lose its new users.

The new move by Reliance Jio doesn't come as much of a surprise. The company recently received a lot of investment from many global firms, including Facebook and Google. The acquisition of the TikTok India business could certainly help Reliance, which has been struggling with its consumer apps.

The Reliance Jio platform indeed has more than 400 million users in India, however, its apps have struggled to win users. With TikTok in hand, Reliance can further push its consumer engagement and communication.