Microsoft ‘wants to buy ALL of TikTok’ – including US, UK, Europe and India versions of the app
MICROSOFT wants to buy TikTok’s entire global operation, a new report claims. It would mean Microsoft snapping up the app in the UK, Europe and India – as well as its US business. Until now, Microsoft was only expected to buy the US operation. But a new report from the FT cites five insiders as […]
MICROSOFT wants to buy TikTok’s entire global operation, a new report claims.
It would mean Microsoft snapping up the app in the UK, Europe and India – as well as its US business.
Until now, Microsoft was only expected to buy the US operation.
But a new report from the FT cites five insiders as saying Microsoft wants to buy TikTok’s global business.
It follows news earlier today that Microsoft could strike a $30billion deal to buy TikTok in a matter of days.
The tech giant is currently racing against a September deadline to finalise a buy-out of the hugely popular Chinese app.
The deal is expected to be valued at anywhere from $10billion to $30billion, according to the report.
At the higher end, it would dwarf many major tech acquisitions – including Facebook’s 2014 purchase of WhatsApp for $16billion.
But it’s still small change for Microsoft, which is currently valued at $1.61trillion on the US stock market.
And at the end of 2019, Microsoft had roughly $135billion in a liquid cash pile.
Part of the deal would also involve Microsoft bringing all of TikTok’s code from China to the US within a year.
Microsoft’s chief managed to help convince Trump about how beneficial a TikTok buy-out could be for the US.
“We had a great conversation. He called me to see how I felt about it,” Trump explained.
“And I said look, it can’t be controlled – for security reasons – by China. Too big, too invasive.
“Here’s the deal. I don’t mind if – whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else – a big company, a secure company, a very American company buy it.”
He also described TikTok by saying: “The name is hot, the brand is hot.”
But his praise of a potential deal came with a major warning: the US Treasury would need to benefit from any deal struck.
It’s not clear how this would work, or through what mechanism money would be paid, as usually the Treasury wouldn’t gain a portion of a private corporate acquisition.
“I said that a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States,” said Trump.
“Because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen.”
He added that an “appropriate deal” would mean “the Treasury…gets a lot of money”.
It’s still possible that Trump will decide to ban TikTok over national security concerns.
But buying the app could be a huge coup for Microsoft and the US, as TikTok serves more than 100million American users.
It would give Microsoft a better chance of competing with major social media rivals, in particular Facebook.
The September 15 deadline is being imposed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which regulates international deals based on security risks.
President Trump is expected to make a decision on banning TikTok soon as White House advisor Peter Navarro called the social app a “national security threat”.
During an interview with Judge Jeanine on Fox News, Navarro called Trump’s decision due to be announced on Monday, a “good thing”.
According to the Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, TikTok has been sending American information including user-location back to its servers in China.
Navarro claims that all personal information is “ potentially going right back to the Chinese communist party, the Chinese military and the Chinese government.”
He continued: “They can use these social media apps to steal your personal information, your business information and also Judge, they use these social media apps to track you and surveil you and monitor your movements.”
Navarro also stated that the app is a “national security threat” and that the President and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been monitoring the app’s movement of information.
The adviser asked viewers that if they are using TikTok “to get on the Trump train” and delete the app as it is “dangerous”.
TikTok is a Chinese-owned video app that’s become popular among Americans in the last two years or so.
Users on the app create, watch, and engage with videos that range from fun dance trends to beekeepers rescuing honeybees.
It was the world’s second most downloaded app in the third quarter of 2019, with an estimated 176 million downloads.
The decision to ban TikTok could have a serious impact on young voters in the upcoming 2020 US Presidential election.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has risked a major row with Donald Trump after allowing TikTok to build a London HQ.
Ministers have approved the investment, due to be revealed next week, from the owners of the controversial Chinese app.
Ministers say it would be “absurd” to say no to such a large company wanting to come to Britain.
One told The Sun: “This isn’t like Huawei where there are national security concerns.”
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In other news, TikTok has said it has tens of millions of US users and hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
But while it’s considered fun by users, US lawmakers have raised intelligence, national security, and privacy concerns about the company’s ownership.
TikTok has denied allegations that it shares user data with the Chinese government.
Trump’s announcement on Friday came after reports claimed his administration was planning to order China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok.
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