The sale of the American branch of TikTok is on the verge of being finalized. Various rumors, which the press has already begun to report, indicate that the transaction could be sealed within the next few days.
Among the candidates that have been sounding strong for several days as possible buyers of the ByteDance social network is Microsoft, a company that has even publicly confirmed its interest in the app. It seems that this interest will materialize through the purchase of TikTok, but through a shared formula in which it will have Walmart as an ally.
Anonymous sources, but close to TikTok, revealed to CNBC that during the next few days an official statement will be issued, which will announce the agreement taken to define the future of the video platform in North America and Australia.
The novelty that such announcement will contain is that among its protagonists, a new character will appear: Walmart, a company that together with Microsoft will present a joint offer for the acquisition of TikTok’s participation in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This branch of the company has been valued at up to $30 billion dollars, but the transaction will probably involve considerably larger amounts.
Despite passing with discretion during this period of high attention around TikTok, Walmart set its sights on being part of this some time ago. The sources of the previously mentioned report pointed out that before they allied with Microsoft, one of their letters was Alphabet, the parent company of Google, with whom they did not succeed in reaching a successful conclusion.
Microsoft and Walmart have been partnering for two years to give this supermarket network a more sophisticated use of the resources offered by the cloud and artificial intelligence. This alliance was initially projected for a period of five years, but according to the results obtained after this movement, the situation could change.
Walmart can find here an opportunity to boost the niche of online advertising and commerce electŕonico, pointing out in the same letter that this is a “clear benefit for creators and users in those markets. For its part, Microsoft can strengthen its offer of digital services that, despite including communication tools, do not have a social network as such in their ecosystem.
The recent resignation of John Mayer as the executive head of TikTok is a sign that supports these rumors, feeding interest in the eventual issuance of an official statement confirming what will happen with this social network.
It is worth remembering that the U.S. government administration, led by President Donald Trump, issued an ultimatum to ByteDance, which is already in the middle of its countdown to the early sale or withdrawal of its participation in the U.S. market.