Walmart has joined Microsoft’s bid for TikTok’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A deal for the social media platform is reportedly nearing completion, rumored to be in the $20 billion to $30 billion range.
Negotiations are down to the Microsoft-led bid and Oracle. Walmart had been working with SoftBank on a separate bid, but doesn’t have the technology backbone needed for an independent acquisition.
TikTok’s owner, China-based ByteDance, was ordered by the White House to sell its U.S. operations by mid-September because of alleged security concerns. With TikTok’s U.S. future up in the air, sports teams will keep an eye on the outcome. The platform recently signed a 3-year, $10 million deal to become a New York Yankees partner as baseball looks to draw younger fans.
Whichever party ends up with TikTok will be without Kevin Mayer, who resigned as CEO Thursday. Mayer joined TikTok less than four months ago after running Disney’s streaming operations.
