Investment firm General Atlantic is selling an equity stake in ByteDance in a deal that values the Chinese social media giant at $550 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said, ‌marking a dramatic rise in the privately held shares.

The potential stake divestment will be the first since the Trump administration cleared the sale ‌of the U.S. interests of ByteDance’s TikTok unit in January, and marks a 66% jump in value since a share buyback last year priced the company at more than $330 billion.

It also ​represents a 15% jump from a secondary market deal, which refers to the sale of shares in unlisted companies by existing shareholders to another investor, in November last year that valued ByteDance at $480 billion, according to sources last month.

General Atlantic, which first invested in ByteDance in 2017 when the company was valued at about $20 billion, started the process to sell some of its shares in recent weeks and hopes to close the sale in March, said one of the sources.

Details ‌of the financial terms of the stake sale, General ⁠Atlantic’s shareholding in ByteDance, and how much the New York-based investment firm will own in the social media company after the transaction were not immediately known.

The planned transaction underscores a sharp and sustained rise in the private market valuation of ⁠ByteDance, and bolsters the prospects for its other investors who are expected to enjoy a windfall when the company eventually makes its public market debut.

Source: Financeyahoo