Twitter Has Explored Acquisition Of TikTok’s U.S. Operations – Report

As the clock is ticking for Microsoft or another company to acquire TikTok in the U.S. by mid-September, a new potential buyer may have emerged.

Twitter has had preliminary talks with TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, WSJ reported on Saturday, noting that it is not clear whether the Jack Dorsey-led social media company would pursue a deal, which would be for video-sharing app’s U.S. operations.

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Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order meant to block all business with ByteDance starting 45 days from that date, forcing the Chinese company to find a buyer or face a ban. TikTok blasted the executive order, threatening to sue the Trump administration.

Microsoft has been in negotiations to acquire TikTok’s operations in the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand for weeks, and is considered the frontrunner for any possible deal, according to WSJ.

Twitter previously acquired video-sharing app Vine before shutting it down four years later.

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