TikTok Parent ByteDance Dispels Rumors Around Acquisition of BlueFocus

Beijing-based ByteDance Thursday has clarified rumors regarding the acquisition of Chinese marketing and brand management services provider BlueFocus.

“ByteDance does not have plan to acquire BlueFocus,” the company said in a notice on its official Toutiao account Thursday morning. “The acquisition rumor is not accurate. The rumors going around in the recent capital market are exaggerated or incorrect. For example, a regular business interaction is exaggerated as a strategic cooperation.”

SEE ALSO: ByteDance Surges to $5.64 Billion Revenue in Q1

As an advertising agency engaged in marketing who got its start in public relations in 1996, BlueFocus has more than 3,000 multinational clients ranging from JD.com to Tencent to Lenovo in the internet, automobile, e-commerce and high-tech industries. The revenues of the company increased 21.7% year-on-year to 28.1 billion yuan in 2019, according to its annual financial result published in April 2020.

The shares of the Shenzhen-listed company reached a surged limit to 9.01 yuan on Wednesday as ByteDance acquisition rumors circulated.