Washington: US retail giant Walmart has confirmed on Thursday (August 27) that it is teaming with Microsoft to strike a deal in acquiring TikTok’s US operations from Chinese owner ByteDance.
TikTok has been under growing political pressure in the US due to national security concerns over its Beijing-based parent, with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on August 6 that would see TikTok banned from the US within 45 days. Trump later issued a second executive order giving the company 90 days to sell its US operations.
Walmart in a statement said, “The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets.
“We believe a potential relationship with TikTok US in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses,” the US-based retail company said
It also added, “We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of US TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of US government regulators.”
Microsoft confirmed on Sunday, August 2 that it was in talks with ByteDance to purchase TikTok’s operations in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Early this week, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned less than four months into the role stating that his role “will look very different as a result of the US Administration’s action to push for a selloff of the US business.” It named US General Manager Vanessa Pappas as Interim Head of TikTok, globally.