Twitter has had preliminary talks about a ‘combination’ with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported, making the social media platform the latest possible suite for the popular video sharing app. As de WSJ notes, it is not clear whether Twitter would follow a possible acquisition of TikTok, and any such deal would have major obstacles.
The biggest challenge for any deal is the Trump administration’s executive order of August 6, which prevents TikTok parent company ByteDance from handling transactions in the US. The order takes effect within 45 days. The administration considers the app in Chinese ownership a potential security threat, despite no evidence to suggest that ByteDance as TikTok ever shared data from Americans with the Chinese government. TikTok has said it plans to challenge the Trump administration’s order.
And then there’s Microsoft, the only company so far to publicly acknowledge that it was in talks with TikTok owner ByteDance for a possible acquisition. De WSJ says Twitter would be considered a long shot in a bid for TikTok, with Microsoft the likely frontrunner in any deal. Twitter is much smaller than Microsoft, and the WSJ’s sources say the social platform is likely to have less anti-trust control than Microsoft. But Twitter also does not have as much money as the software giant for a possible purchase.
Microsoft said in an August 2 post that its CEO Satya Nadella had talked with President Trump about a possible acquisition of TikTok, which would include TikTok operations in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Microsoft said it expected its talks to wrap up on September 15.
Any deal with Twitter would involve TikTok’s U.S. operations, according to the WSJ.
Twitter declined to comment. A TikTok spokesman said the company did not comment on market rumors.
