Walmart, Microsoft Join Hands in Pursuit to Acquire TikTok in US

New Delhi: Tiktok is planning to sell off its services in the United States and is in talks with three key negotiators and Walmart has teamed up with Microsoft to join the bid for acquiring the popular short-video-sharing platform. Also Read – TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Quits Less Than 6 Months Into The Job Amid Political Turmoil

A deal is expected to be announced in the coming days as President Donald Trump has ordered ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok to sell its assets within 90 days. Also Read – Indian Software Engineer Becomes US Citizen in Rare Ceremony at White House Hosted by Trump

While Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance for weeks now, Walmart’s ingress into the social media world came as a major surprise. According to reports, the retail giant aims to become the force in technology and reach young shoppers through a potential acquisition of TikTok. Also Read – TikTok Stars Move Their Creative Endeavors to Newly Made in India App ‘Moj’

Interestingly, Walmart’s shares also jumped by 3.6 per cent to $135.47 following the news of the joint pursuit with Microsoft.

The development comes on a day when TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer announced his resignation in less than six months into the job. Mayer originally intended to announce his resignation along with the sale agreement next week.

TikTok came under immense pressure amid an already tense situation with China after President Donald Trump had threatened to ban the short-video-sharing platform over national security concerns.

Trump issued an executive order on August 6, prohibiting ByteDance from conducting any transaction in the US within 45 days. In a subsequent order on August 14, he gave ByteDance an option to divest its TikTok business in the US within 90 days.

TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the first executive order.