Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok for up to $30 billion
According to CNBC.Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchen is “deeply involved” with the process. Microsoft plans to finish its acquisition talks with TikTok within the next three weeks, ahead of the Sept. 15 deadline.
The deal could be worth up to $30 billion.
If the deal goes through, Microsoft has already agreed with the U.S. government to bring TikTok’s 15 million lines of code from China to the U.S. within one year. Faber also reported that the two sides haven’t landed on a price for TikTok yet, but it could be between $10 billion and $30 billion.
On July 31, Trump told reporters that TikTok was facing an immediate ban, heightening tensions between the U.S. and China once more.
He also stated that he believed a significant portion of the money from the sale should go to the U.S. Treasury. Yet, experts have warned against such an acquisition, as the move would have no basis in antitrust law, and may not be legally permissible.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, continues to explore alternative options, such as a new headquarters, outside of both China and the U.S. However, US President Donald Trump has stressed that he will ban the app if ByteDance doesn’t sell the widely-popular unit to an American company by September 15.
