TikTok Rival, Triller To Go Public Via Merger

San Francisco-headquartered video-sharing and entertainment company Triller is holding talks with a blank check company in an attempt to go public, according to Reuters. Merchant bank Farvahar Partners is reportedly providing advisory services for Triller.

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 stated that 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. An 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.

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