Tiktok will have a new buyer in Oracle, sources told Reuters as September 15 deadline to complete the sale looms large. Earlier Satya Nadella-led Microsoft was seen as leading the race to buy the Chinese app currently at the centre of violating privacy concerns of its users.
Under the proposed deal, Oracle will be ByteDance’s technology partner and will assume management of TikTok’s US user data. Oracle is also negotiating to take a stake in the TikTok US assets, Reuters said. It is unclear whether US President Donald Trump, who wants a US technology company to own most of TikTok in the United States, will approve the proposed deal, the agency further said.
Last month, President Trump said he will allow TikTok to function in the US if it didn't have an American owner. This led to Microsoft confirming its interest in buying Tiktok's US business. Later, the software major expanded the talks to include TikTok's operations in some other countries as well, including India.
TikTok had a deadline of September 15 to either complete a sale of its US operations or face a ban in the United States.
On June 30, Narendra Modi-led Indian government banned TikTok as part of its strategy to stop 59-apps from Chinese companies to operate in India. Later, the government expanded the ban to 47 more Chinese apps in August. This was followed by a further ban on 118 Chinese apps at the beginning of September
On Sunday September 13, ByteDance declined to sell or transfer its algorithm behind the video-sharing app TikTok.
Chinese newspaper South China Post said the company said it won't transfer the technology to the new American buyer but the latter is free to develop a new algorithm.
This deal comes at the heal of President Trump reiterating that ByteDance will not be given any extension to the original September 15 deadline to sell TikTok.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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