It's Not You, It's Us

Bytedance has been easily the most sought-after Chinese secondary share of the year, at least by the volume of requests crossing :LehmanBush's desk. So the news that they are not going to IPO after all must have a lot of investors wondering how to value the blocks they've just bought at north of a $200, even $300b valuation.  

They can't be as in the dark as those who bought Bitcoin at $60k. After all, the cryptocurrency's volatility is proverbial at this point, and fundamental analysis is an exercise in pseudo-science. 

Meanwhile, Bytedance has Douyin, with over 600m daily users, and TikTok. So how to take their claim that they "don't meet the requirements for a public listing"?

"Bytedance already knew a U.S. listing would be problematic," says Jimmie Jeremejev, "both politically and because what the requisite transparency might bring to light. And now with the Chinese government cracking down on tech companies left and right, they've obviously decided the timing isn't auspicious, and are offering an 'it's not you - it's me' excuse. They'll most likely spin off Douyin once the dust settles."