President Donald Trump said Microsoft is among the US companies looking to take control of TikTok to help the app avert an effective ban that could start in April.
“I would say yes,” Mr Trump told reporters on Monday evening when asked if Microsoft was one of the companies interested in helping to bring about new ownership of TikTok, a requirement set by Congress to keep the app functioning in the US.
Mt Trump added on Monday that other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but would not provide a list.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Mr Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference, back to Washington.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
Representatives for Microsoft and TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In one of his first acts in office last week, Mr Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, from January 19 to April 4.
The president has said that he is looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the US a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky and it is unclear whether he is proposing control of the app by the government or another US entity.
Last week, the artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the US government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s US business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Several other investors – including billionaire Frank McCourt and Mr Trump’s former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin – have spoken publicly about their desire to purchase TikTok’s US platform.
Mr Trump has also said he has spoken to “many people” privately about the company.
After the bipartisan law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell the platform and fought the statute in court for months.
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew sits before the 60th Presidential Inauguration (Kevin Lamarque/AP)
China also rebuked Washington over the divestment push, although it appears to be softening its stance.
In media interviews last week, Bill Ford, the chairman of the global investing firm General Atlantic and a ByteDance board member, said the company is prepared to engage with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a solution that keeps TikTok available.
He also floated the idea that there could be a solution short of a full divesture by ByteDance.
Politicians and officials in both parties have raised national security concerns about Chinese ownership and potential manipulation of the immensely popular platform, which is used by more than 170 million US users.
Mr Trump was in favour of a TikTok ban before he reversed his position last year. He credits the platform with helping him win more young voters during the recent presidential election.
Microsoft, along with Walmart, made a failed bid for TikTok during Mr Trump’s first term after he tried to ban the app.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella later described it as the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”