How ByteDance’s CEO balked at selling TikTok’s US business

ByteDance founder and CEO Yiming Zhang’s decision to drop his pursuit of a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft Corp in favor of a partnership with Oracle Corp was the culmination of pressure from the Beijing-based firm’s investors as it searched for a deal to appease the United States and China, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Concerns among major ByteDance backers such as Sequoia and General Atlantic over the financial hit of selling the popular short-video app in the United States for less than what it is worth led Zhang to opt for the sale of only a stake to Oracle, rather than an outright divestment, the sources said.