US business: Microsoft failed to acquire TikTok

The owners of the popular video app TikTok do not want to sell the business of the platform in the United States after all. A partnership with Oracle has been reported to ensure continued operations in the United States.

According to informed sources, Chinese technology group ByteDance does not want to sell the US business of short video platform TikTok after all. Instead, a partnership with US software and hardware maker Oracle is planned in order to evade a ban in the US while not upsetting the Chinese government, people familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

As part of the planned contract, Oracle will become ByteDance’s technology partner and handle TikTok user data in the US, the insider said. Oracle is also interested in a stake in TikTok’s US assets.

The government must agree

ByteDance earlier held talks under pressure from the US government to sell its US subsidiary TikTok to a consortium led by Oracle or Microsoft. Last month, US President Donald Trump threatened to ban the popular app due to security and data protection concerns, if most of it did not go to a US company.

The US Foreign Investment Review Board (CFIUS) must approve the deal. ByteDance and Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House declined to comment. Microsoft said it’s out of the race for Tiktok.