The US president has said there’s “great interest” among American investors in buying the app’s US subsidiary
US President Donald Trump has said Microsoft is among the companies considering the purchase of TikTok’s US subsidiary, media have reported.
TikTok briefly shut down in the US last weekend after parent company ByteDance missed a January 19 deadline to divest of its American operations, as mandated by a Supreme Court ruling over national security concerns.
Hours later, Trump announced a 90-day extension and proposed a plan for the US acquisition of a majority stake in TikTok.
Asked by reporters on board Air Force One about Microsoft’s potential acquisition of TikTok on Monday, Trump said, “I would say yes,” adding that there is “a lot of interest in TikTok. There’s great interest in TikTok.”
Trump mentioned that other companies were also interested in acquiring TikTok but did not disclose their names.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” he said.
If it goes through, the deal with Microsoft would place the video-sharing app under the control of one of America’s most valuable tech companies, which has been expanding aggressively into areas including artificial intelligence and gaming.
Microsoft did not respond to media requests for comment.
TikTok, with about 170 million US users, has attracted significant interest from American investors, following the government’s demand that it be US-owned or face expulsion from the market.
AI startup Perplexity AI has proposed a merger with TikTok’s US operations, suggesting that the government could acquire up to a 50% stake in the new entity following an initial public offering. Additionally, billionaire Frank McCourt, former owner of the MLB franchise Los Angeles Dodgers, has made a formal offer to acquire TikTok’s US assets.
In 2020, Microsoft and tech company Oracle were contenders to acquire the platform when Trump tried to force a sale of the app during his first term.
Trump initially supported a TikTok ban but reversed his stance last year, crediting the video app with boosting his support among young voters during the presidential election.
On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was in talks with “very substantial people” about purchasing TikTok and expected to make a decision within 30 days.
“I’d only do it if the United States benefits,” he added. “And if we can save it, I think that would be a great thing. And I think it would be economically good for America.”
The US president initially suggested a joint venture for TikTok with a 50-50 ownership split between ByteDance and American investors. Earlier this week, he remarked that TikTok would be “worthless” without a US operating permit but could be valued at $1 trillion with one.
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