Oracle in talks to acquire TikTok US operations: report

Software company Oracle is in talks with TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to purchase the company’s Western operations, according to people briefed on the matter.

Oracle’s co-founder, Larry Ellison, reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with ByteDance about purchasing its operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Financial Times reported.

Oracle is working with a group of U.S. investors who own stakes in ByteDance, including General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, the report stated.

ByteDance and TikTok did not have a comment on the newspaper’s report, while Oracle declined to comment. General Atlantic declined to comment to The Hill about the report. Oracle and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.

The push for the Beijing-based social media video platform’s acquirement by a U.S. technology company comes as President Trump threatens to ban the app, citing data and privacy concerns regarding the Chinese government.

Twitter is reportedly considering the acquisition of a portion of ByteDance’s operations, although it is unclear whether the company would move forward.

Microsoft is also a serious contender for acquiring TikTok’s Western operations. The company is reportedly interested in purchasing TikTok in Europe and India, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned the app.

However, ByteDance is against selling any assets outside of its U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand operations, a person close with the company told the Financial Times.

Last week, Trump ordered ByteDance to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok within the next 90 days, putting pressure on the Beijing-based technology company to compromise on a sale with an American company to maintain U.S. operations.