Donald Trump names latest company in 'bidding war' battle to take control of TikTok
Donald Trump names latest company in 'bidding war' battle to take control of TikTok
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Microsoft is among the US companies looking to take control of TikTok, President Donald Trump said. The world leader crowed "he likes bidding wars" as he lauded Microsoft's interest in the popular app which, without new ownership, will effectively be banned in the US from April.
When a reporter asked the US President if Microsoft was one of the firms interested, Trump responded: "I would say yes." He added other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but wouldn’t provide a list. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference, back to Washington, Trump continued: "I like bidding wars because you make your best deals." Representatives for Microsoft and TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Press Association.
In one of his first acts in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, from January 19 to April 4. The president has said that he’s looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the U.S. a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky, and its unclear whether he's proposing control of the app by the government or another U.S. entity.
Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
