TikTok reportedly selects U.S. buyer, but deal could hit a snag
TikTok is nearly ready to announce a buyer, but the Chinese government could slow a deal.
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What you need to know
The saga around Microsoft’s bid to purchase TikTok could come to an end soon, according to a new report.CNBCreports that TikTok has selected a buyer for its U.S., Australian, and New Zealand businesses. An announcement for the deal could come “as soon as Tuesday,” the report notes.
Microsoft, Walmart, and Oracle are all in the mix as potential owners. Microsoft acknowledged it was seeking to purchase TikTok earlier this month, while Walmart said last week that it waspartnering with Microsofton a bid. Should the Microsoft-Walmart partnership succeed, it would make Walmart a minority owner with a deal worth between $20 billion and $30 billion, CNBC notes.
The sale could hit a snag, however. Last week, the Chinese government put TikTok’s AI tech on a technology export list. The result is TikTok owner ByteDance would need alicense from the Chinese governmentto sell TikTok to any U.S. business.
Reportingemerged last weekthat a TikTok sale was imminent. The deal is on a strict timeline after anexecutive order from the Trump administrationdictated that TikTok must either be sold or it will be banned. TikTok has since sued the U.S. government, stating that the executive order was rushed out without giving TikTok a chance to defend itself against claims that it is a security threat.
Last week, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer stepped down from his role, citing the changing political environment as a reason for his departure. TikTok’s general manager in North America, Vanessa Pappas, took over his role as the company’s global chief.
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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter@DthorpLand Instagram@heyitsdtl.
