By Ben Otto


Bytedance's TikTok will invest more than $1.5 billion in a deal to merge its Indonesia business with GoTo Group's e-commerce platform, a move that will allow the Chinese video-sharing app to resume retail operations in the populous Southeast Asian nation.

The companies said Monday that TikTok Shop Indonesia and GoTo's Tokopedia arm will be combined under the existing Tokopedia entity, with TikTok taking a controlling stake. TikTok plans to invest more than $1.5 billion into the venture over time, they said.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

TikTok was recently forced to shut down its e-commerce service in Indonesia when authorities banned online shopping on social media platforms, a move intended to protect small merchants. The country had been one of the its more successful e-commerce markets.

GoTo shares were down 8.3% in early trading, trimming gains this year to 8.8%.


Write to Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-10-23 2301ET