TikTok deal: US President Donald Trump on Monday evening said that Microsoft is Microsoft is one of the American companies interested in acquiring TikTok, with the goal to help the popular app avert an effective ban that could kick-in in April. He also said that other companies were also interested in purchasing the app, though he did not provide specific names.
“I would say yes,” Trump told reporters when asked if Microsoft was one of the companies interested in helping to bring about a new ownership of TikTok, a requirement set by Congress to keep the app functioning in the US.
‘I like bidding wars’
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference, back to Washington.
In one of his initial actions in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to secure new ownership that meets government approval by 75 days, moving it from January 19 to April 4.
The President has said that he wants the final buyer to grant the US a 50 per cent stake in the company, which is owned by the China-based ByteDance. However, the specifics are unclear, and it remains uncertain whether he is suggesting government control of the app or ownership by another US entity.
Perplexity AI new proposal to ByteDance
Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the US government to own up to 50 per cent of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s US business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Other investors, including billionaire Frank McCourt and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have publicly expressed interest in purchasing TikTok’s US platform. Trump has also mentioned that he has had private discussions with “many people” about the company.
After the bipartisan law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell the platform and fought the statute in court for months. China also rebuked Washington over the divestment push, though more recently it appears to be softening its stance.
In media interviews last week, Bill Ford, the chairman of the global investing firm General Atlantic and a ByteDance board member, said the company is prepared to engage with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a solution that keeps TikTok available. He also floated the idea that there could be a solution short of a full divesture by ByteDance.
Lawmakers and officials in both parties have raised national security concerns about Chinese ownership and potential manipulation on the immensely popular platform, which is used by more than 170 million US users.
Trump was in favor of a TikTok ban before he reversed his position last year. He credits the platform with helping him win more young voters during the recent presidential election.
Microsoft, along with Walmart, made a failed bid for TikTok during Trump’s first term after Trump tried to ban the app. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later described it as the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”
(With AP inputs)
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