It looks like Microsoft may not be the only American company that’s interested in getting part of Chinese-owned TikTok’s business, at least in that part of the world. Reports are saying that Twitter is also in talks with the owner, Bytedance, as they’re looking into a potential merger as the U.S. government is still bent on getting rid of the popular app due to its perceived Chinese government. Whoever ends up buying TikTok out will have 45 days to finish talks and negotiations.
If you’ve been living under a pandemic rock, one of the other big stories of the past couple of weeks is that U.S. President Donald Trump wants TikTok out of American devices. He has already signed an Executive Order that will ban the app from the U.S in 45 days. The only thing that can “save” this video sharing app is if an American company will buy it out or at least their North American business.
Microsoft already made public that they’re in talks with Bytedance to get their TikTok business in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. But according to the Wall Street Journal, it seems that Twitter is also in talks with the Chinese company about a potential merger of their businesses in the U.S. But if the social media service is serious about this, they will probably need more investors as TikTok is valued between $15-50 billion while Twitter has a market capitalization of $29 billion.
Whatever negotiation that might be going on between Bytedance and either or both Microsoft and Twitter, they are still reportedly pursuing a lawsuit against Trump. They are claiming that due process was not followed and all accusations against them, that they are a security risk and in collusion with the Chinese government, cannot be proven in court. The Executive Order has been by a lot of tech leaders, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Now if Twitter is able to successfully buy TikTok’s U.S. business, the irony is not lost on some people. If you remember, they discontinued their short form video streaming service Vine even as it was gaining a successful following and user base.
