Private equity firm General Atlantic is seeking to sell a stake in ByteDance, in a transaction that values the social media group at around $550bn, according to a report by Reuters.
The proposed divestment comes after the company resolved the sale of TikTok’s US operations earlier this year, and represents a sharp uplift from a 2025 employee share buyback that valued ByteDance at more than $330bn. It also implies a roughly 15% increase from a November secondary transaction that priced the company at about $480bn.
General Atlantic, which first invested in ByteDance in 2017 at a valuation of around $20bn, has reportedly begun marketing part of its holding in recent weeks and is aiming to complete the sale in March. Financial terms, the size of the stake being sold, and General Atlantic’s post-transaction ownership were not disclosed.
The move highlights the continued rise in ByteDance’s private market valuation and strengthens expectations of a sizeable windfall for long-term investors ahead of any future public listing.
ByteDance’s revenues have reportedly overtaken those of Facebook owner Meta, making it the world’s largest social media company by sales. The group’s other investors include KKR, Susquehanna International Group, and Primavera Capital.
