Microsoft Weighs Buying TikTok’s U.K. Services Too, Fox Reports
It’s unclear whether TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance wants to sell the U.K. unit.
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. is interested in buying the popular music video app TikTok’s U.K. operations, expanding beyond the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand units that are already under discussion, Fox Business Network reported, citing a banker it didn’t identify.
It’s unclear whether TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. wants to sell the U.K. unit and if a formal offer for U.K. unit will be made, the banker with knowledge of the deal told the network.
The U.K. government said in early August that it has no plans to block the ByteDance platform in the country. TikTok is sitting on a plan to move its headquarters from the U.S. to London as it waits for a public statement of support from the British government, the South China Morning Post reported last week, citing sources familiar with the situation.
President Donald Trump on Friday formally ordered the Chinese owner of TikTok to sell its U.S. assets. Microsoft has been in talks with ByteDance to buy TikTok’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand with a Sept. 15 deadline for a deal.
TikTok didn’t offer a comment on the report, Fox Business News said.
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