ByteDance Board Shakeup: Coatue’s Laffont Exits, French Entrepreneur Niel Steps In Amid Share Sales and IPO Uncertainty

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, sees Coatue's Laffont exit their board, while French businessman Niel joins. It's been said that Coatue is looking to offload some of its ByteDance stocks, as the prospects of an IPO still seem distant.

ByteDance, the company behind the popular short video app TikTok which is currently facing demands to leave the US market, has announced that Philippe Laffont, the creator of New York's Coatue Management, has stepped down from their board of directors. He will be succeeded by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel.

At present, the official website of the Chinese firm lists four additional board members: Liang Rubo, who serves as the CEO and chairman, Arthur Dantchik, the co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, William Ford, who is the CEO and chairman of General Atlantic, and Neil Shen, the managing partner and founder of HongShan, previously known as Sequoia China.

ByteDance has received investments from Susquehanna, General Atlantic, and HongShan.

"We are thrilled to have Xavier as part of our board and are eager to benefit from his direction, contributions, and creativity," said a spokesperson for ByteDance. "We are committed to further enriching the variety of abilities and knowledge within our board to protect the company's general interests and those of all shareholders."

Without providing further details about the specifics of the role, the spokesperson stated that Laffont will remain involved with the company in a capacity as a "board observer."