TikTok's deadline approaches, and Amazon enters the bidding war.
As the April 5 deadline loomed, U.S. government officials revealed on Wednesday, April 2 that Amazon had submitted a bid to acquire TikTok at the last moment. The e-commerce giant aims to purchase all of TikTok's operations in the United States. TikTok faces a deadline set by the Trump administration, requiring it to find a non-Chinese buyer before April 5 or be banned from the U.S. White House officials stated that U.S. President Trump is expected to hold a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House before the April 5 deadline to discuss TikTok's final fate.
Reuters reported that Amazon has sent letters to Vice President Vance and Commerce Secretary Luetnick expressing its intention to acquire TikTok. However, it seems that the various parties involved in the relevant negotiations have not taken Amazon's proposal seriously, and it remains unclear whether this bid will become part of the final transaction plan.
The parent company of TikTok - Chinese internet technology enterprise ByteDance - is facing an ultimatum from the U.S. government. The Trump administration set a deadline earlier this year, requiring TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer before April 5 or face a ban in the U.S.
White House officials told Reuters on Tuesday that U.S. President Trump is expected to hold a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House before the April 5 deadline to discuss the future of the social platform TikTok, which has 170 million users in the U.S., and consider the final proposals related to the application. This decision may have a significant impact on TikTok's future direction and also affect the competitive landscape of the U.S. technology industry.
Trump said last Sunday that he believed an agreement would be reached before the deadline. However, as of now, ByteDance has not officially accepted the sale requirement, and the Chinese government has not made a clear statement. But according to multiple American media reports, negotiations regarding TikTok's separation from its parent company are still ongoing.
Although Amazon's bid adds new variables to the TikTok deal, considering that tech giants such as Microsoft and Oracle have previously shown interest in TikTok, the success of this deal remains uncertain.
The core proposal currently is to spin off TikTok from ByteDance, with existing shareholders of ByteDance - 60% of whom are foreign investors - receiving shares in the new entity proportionally. Additionally, new investors may be introduced to hold a minority stake.
There are reports that cloud computing giant Oracle is one of the potential investors. Oracle is currently responsible for hosting TikTok's servers in the U.S. and may play a key role in this transaction.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828336490429449/
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