Oracle Corp is weighing a potential bid for part of TikTok’s business, seeking to rival Microsoft Corp in the race to acquire the viral video streaming app, people familiar with the matter said.
Oracle, which is controlled by Larry Ellison, has made a preliminary approach to other parties, including venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, to partner with it in a bid for the app’s operations in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the people said, asking not to be identified.
Oracle’s entry could challenge Microsoft’s bargaining position, as the Redmond, California-based company had been the only party to publicly confirm that it was in talks with TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動).
Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump on Friday last week ordered ByteDance to sell its US assets within 90 days, adding to an earlier executive order that would prohibit US persons and companies from doing business with TikTok effective 45 days from Aug. 6.
Oracle did not immediately respond, while ByteDance declined to comment when contacted by reporters.
Sequoia, a venture investor in ByteDance, also declined to comment.
Oracle — the world’s second-largest software maker — is focused on supplying to business customers and has virtually no investments in consumer apps or social media.
Valued at about US$166 billion, Oracle held about US$43 billion in cash or near equivalents as of the end of May, making it one of few companies that could potentially afford the lofty price tag for TikTok.
Analysts and bankers have estimated the value of TikTok’s US business at between US$20 billion and US$50 billion, a wide range that reflects the complexity involved in separating TikTok’s US and global businesses.
ByteDance in 2017 bought the Musical.ly app and merged it with TikTok, creating an app with more than 100 million users in the US alone. That deal is now being unraveled by US officials, who have cited national security concerns amid escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The company faces a deadline to reach a deal, or risk facing a complete shutdown of its US business.
Other bidders potentially interested in the assets include Twitter Inc. The social media company is among US tech firms that have also explored possible bids, although it is unclear how far those talks have gone, according to multiple people familiar with the deliberations.
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