The ongoing deal talks between ByteDance and Microsoft regarding selling TikTok's U.S. operations seem to have come to an end and Oracle has confirmed that it would be partnering with ByteDance. Oracle has shown interest in a structured partnership instead of entirely acquiring TikTok.
The Trump Administration's executive order gave ByteDance 90 days to either divest TikTok in the U.S. or sell its operations to an American company. The order came after the U.S. government raised concerns over TikTok being a ''national security threat'', accusing the company of helping the Chinese government spy on the U.S. citizens through the data collected by the app. The claims were denied by TikTok.
Furthermore, China revised its rules around tech export in August, hence making the matter for ByteDance to sell TikTok difficult. It was reported that the Chinese government has been attempting to have TikTok entirely shut down instead of letting its operations be sold; an act of submission that it did not want to go with.
ByteDance submitted a proposal to the U.S. Treasury Department over the weekend and Oracle was included in it as TikTok's ''trusted technology provider'''. According to Oracle, its shares mentioned were up to 6.3%. Under the same proposal, Oracle is now assuming management of TikTok's U.S. user data, which is currently stored in Alphabet's cloud, with a backup in Singapore.
It is reported that other top investors of ByteDance like General Atlantic and Sequoia will also be given some part of the stakes.
On the other hand, Microsoft seems to have exited the deal talks for now as it said that it was informed that ByteDance no longer plans to sell TikTok's U.S operations. Walmart had joined Microsoft's bid earlier and said that it was still interested in investing and will be in discussions with ByteDance about it.
President Donald Trump is expected to review and comment on the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the Treasury Department, this week, to see whether he will approve the proposed deal or not.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that the Administration will also be in discussion with Oracle over the next few days. Moreover, a separate national security review will also be conducted by the Administration.
