Microsoft in Negotiations to Purchase ByteDance’s TikTok

According to the New York Times and Fox Business, the US tech-giant Microsoft is in negotiations to purchase ByteDance-owned TikTok. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said that he would sign an executive order as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok in its country.

Microsoft in Negotiations to Purchase ByteDance’s TikTok

After the Trump’s announcement, a series of negotiations took place between the White House, ByteDance, and potential buyers of TikTok which also include Microsoft Corp. However, some experts stated that they failed to produce a deal that would result in the Chinese company shedding the app’s US operations. On the other hand, the talks are expected to continue in the coming days.

As Microsoft Corp already owns professional social media network LinkedIn, it would face fewer regulatory barriers in acquiring TikTok compared to its other competitors. But ByteDance value TikTok of more than $50 billion, and also insists on retaining a minority stake in the app.

After which Trump stated that,

Not the deal that you have been hearing about, that they are going to buy and sell… and Microsoft and another one. We are not an M&A (mergers and acquisitions) country.

It was not instantly clear what authority the president had to ban TikTok, which has nearly 80 million active monthly users in the United States of America. It was also unclear how the ban would be executed and what legal challenges it could face.

In response, TikTok stated,

While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.

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