the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, on Friday President Trump’s announcement that he plans to ban Chinese-owned TikTok has halted a potential acquisition of the popular app by Microsoft, with both companies waiting for more information for the U.S. government, according to several people involved in the talks.
The two companies were in advance stages of negotiating a deal that could have been announced as soon as Monday. Under the deal, TikTok’s owner Bytedance would sell the U.S. operation of TikTok to Microsoft, while continuing to operate the rest of the global video app out of a European headquarters. It’s unclear if the companies would share technology, such as through a licensing arrangement, or whether Microsoft would rebuild and operate the company. One option under consideration would have had Bytedance eventually separate its China business by listing it as a public company.
Continue reading Trump Administration Moves to Ban “TikTok” App
