US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a trade agreement between the US and China on January 15, 2020, at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said that US enterprise software giant Oracle is “a great company” when asked if it would be a good buyer for TikTok.
Its appeal to Oracle, co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, comes after reports that the California tech company is interested in acquiring TikTok’s companies North America, Australia and New Zealand from Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Speaking at an event in Yuma, Arizona, Trump said, “Well, I think Oracle is a great company, and I think its owner is a great man. He’s a great person. I think Oracle would definitely be one. who could handle it. Yes. We gave them until September 15. “
It is unclear how much Oracle is willing to pay for TikTok, but some of ByteDance’s investors value TikTok’s global business at $ 50 billion, according to Reuters.
The way TikTok is structured means that the subsidiaries in New Zealand, Canada and Australia report to the US and that is why they are included in the deal talks.
Oracle’s bid for TikTok also includes US venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, which are investors in ByteDance. The talks were confirmed by a CNBC source after they were first reported by the Financial Times.
Last week, Trump said the U.S. government will ban TikTok unless the app can be sold to a U.S. organization within 90 days.
“There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance … can take action that threatens to restrict U.S. national security,” Trump said in an executive order. ByteDance denies the allegations.
TikTok may not seem like the most natural fit for Oracle, but Abishur Prakash, a geopolitical futurist at a strategic consulting firm called Center for Innovating the Future, understands why the company is interested.
“By placing TikTok data on Oracle servers, Oracle can bring in-ways into new sectors,” Prakash said.
“In the post-Covid world, every business is trying to reinvent itself,” Prakash added. “And within tech geopolitics, there are not only risks but also opportunities. Oracle may have its own ideas on how it could use TikTok that it has not yet revealed to the market.”
Oracle competes with Microsoft, which emerged as the initial frontrunner in the race to get the fastest growing social media app.
Asked which company he would rather own, Trump said: “I think Microsoft wants it and so does Oracle, and probably other people too, but they should also make sure the United States compensates well, because we are the ones who make it possible. Very simple: We are the ones who make it possible. “
Trump added: “Our treasury needs to be very well compensated.”
Ellison threw a campaign fundraising event for Trump earlier this year and has voiced his support for the president.
ByteDance and Oracle still refuse the chat. When asked about it, a ByteDance spokeswoman said, “We do not comment on rumors or speculation.” An Oracle spokesman added: “This is not something we can comment on.”
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