Xbox owner Microsoft is currently in discussions to buy social media giant TikTok.
That’s according to the newly-reinstalled US President Trump, who has now told reporters of Microsoft’s involvement (via Reuters). Microsoft itself has declined to comment.
TikTok’s current status in the US appears precarious, after it was banned by the previous US administration and the US Supreme Court due to national security concerns linked to the app’s Chinese owner ByteDance. Here in Europe, the UK government, BBC and the European Commission have banned the app from use on official phones.
Ahead of returning to office, Trump had signalled he would pause the ban – though TikTok still took itself offline within the US for a brief window, before returning online with a message that thanked Trump personally.
TikTok’s US ban is now officially paused for 75 days, during which time the social media giant and its compulsive algorithm must either be sold or banned for good.
Microsoft is one of a few companies with deep enough pockets to make a serious bid, with various valuations of TikTok ranging around $100bn, and some even higher.
Still, as we well know, Microsoft seemed happy to shell out $67.8bn just a couple of years ago to snap up Call of Duty and World of Warcraft maker Activision Blizzard. What’s $30bn more for control of the hugely-influential TikTok?
Microsoft has been interested in TikTok previously, and got close to a bid in 2020 during Trump’s first term in office. Other contenders to buy the social media firm include cloud technology company Oracle, as well as X owner Elon Musk.
TikTok would be, by far, Microsoft’s biggest acquisition to date. Other than Activision Blizzard, Microsoft previously paid $26bn for LinkedIn, $19.7bn for speech recognition company Nuance Communications, $8.5bn for Skype, and $7.5bn for Bethesda owner ZeniMax Media.
Last week, popular card battler Marvel Snap returned online with an apology to players, after it was also made briefly unavailable. Marvel Snap is published by Nuverse, another company owned by TikTok parent ByteDance. Marvel Snap’s development team has now said it will seek an alternative publishing partner.