Oracle may outbid Microsoft to buy TikTok
Short Bites:
- Oracle has entered the race to buy TikTok.
- In talks to take over US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia operations of the short video platform.
- Oracle is the current favourite due to their co-founder’s ties with the US President Donald Trump.
Oracle Inc is reportedly in talk with TikTok, which if successful, may see it gatecrash Microsoft’s bid to buy the US operations of short video platform, TikTok.
Microsoft has been working on a partial takeover of TikTok after US President Donald Trump ordered TikTok to either sell its US operations or shutdown them down citing security concerns.
But Oracle has reportedly met with ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, and is working on a rival deal for its operations in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Oracle comes to the negotiating table with several advantages. Time is on its side due to Trump’s 90-day deadline for the sale, meaning the options for long drawn-out discussions are limited. The company also has an edge when it comes to the politics of the deal. Oracle’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Larry Ellison, America’s fifth richest man, is a public supporter of Donald Trump. He told Forbes in April that “I support him and want him to do well.”
Despite the presidential order requiring its sale, TikTok has not given up the fight for its reputation in the US. On Monday, the company launched a new “information hub” and Twitter account to “correct the record” and respond more quickly to allegations of censorship, surveillance and state control.
