U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that Microsoft is in discussions to acquire TikTok and expressed his preference for a competitive bidding process for the app. Microsoft declined to comment, while TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance did not immediately respond.
TikTok, which has approximately 170 million U.S. users, faced a temporary shutdown before a law requiring ByteDance to sell the app due to national security concerns took effect on January 19. After assuming office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law by 75 days.
Last week, Trump mentioned ongoing discussions with various parties regarding TikTok’s future and anticipated a decision within 30 days. He had previously suggested Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a potential buyer, though Musk has not commented. On Sunday, AI startup Perplexity AI reportedly proposed a merger with TikTok, offering the U.S. government a significant stake in the new entity, a source told Reuters.
This marks the second time Microsoft has been linked to a TikTok acquisition. During Trump’s first term, he ordered the app’s U.S. operations to separate from ByteDance over national security concerns. Microsoft was a leading bidder in 2020, but the negotiations fell apart, and the divestment effort ended after Trump left office.
Reflecting on the 2020 talks, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called it the “strangest” deal he ever worked on, noting that the U.S. government’s specific requirements ultimately faded away.
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