Oracle enters race to buy US operations from TikTok

Oracle has entered the race to acquire TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned short video app that President Donald Trump has vowed to shut down unless it is taken over by a U.S. company in mid-November, people said. informed about it.

The tech company co-founded by Larry Ellison had had preliminary talks with Chinese owner of TikTok, ByteDance, and was seriously considering purchasing the app’s operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, people said.

Oracle was working with a group of US investors who already have a stake in ByteDance, including General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, the people added.

Microsoft has been the top contender to buy TikTok since it publicly stated in early August that it had held talks to explore a purchase from the app companies in the United States, Canada, in Australia and New Zealand.

Microsoft has also seriously considered an offer to take over TikTok’s global operations beyond the countries it described this month, people briefed on the company’s thinking said. The Redmond, Washington-based company is particularly interested in purchasing TikTok in Europe and India, where the video app has been banned by Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister.

ByteDance opposes the sale of assets other than those in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, a person close to the company said.

Oracle’s entry into the race has provided ByteDance with a credible alternative to Microsoft’s offer, a person with first-hand knowledge of the matter said.

Twitter had also had preliminary talks with TikTok, but there were serious concerns about the U.S. social media group’s ability to fund the deal, people briefed on the matter said.

Oracle’s approach comes after Mr Trump last week ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations within 90 days, following a recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, a panel government that reviews foreign transactions.

Mr. Trump’s order said the United States had “credible evidence” that ByteDance was using TikTok, which reached 2 billion downloads worldwide in 2020, to violate American security. ByteDance has repeatedly denied any allegations of inappropriate data sharing. The United States has been engaged in a trade war with China since Mr. Trump came to power.

Mr. Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, is one of the few people in Silicon Valley who has openly supported Mr. Trump. In February, the 76-year-old billionaire entrepreneur hosted a fundraiser for the US president at his Coachella Valley, California estate.

It is not known whether the White House is more supportive of Oracle’s approach than that of Microsoft.

Any deal would face a long list of challenges, including the separation of TikTok’s back-end technology from ByteDance. It’s also unclear how much TikTok’s US or global operations would net in a sale.

Oracle could not be contacted immediately for comment. ByteDance, General Atlantic and Sequoia declined to comment.

Additional reporting by Richard Waters in San Francisco