Microsoft is not likely to agree a deal with TikTok owner ByteDance for the sale of its American Activities. Instead, the Chinese company wants to challenge the decision of American president Donald Trump to impose a ban, writes The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post with reference to its sources.
ByteDance is preparing not only for legal action, but also for a PR offensive. The company is doing so after being increasingly criticised in its own country for being too easy to comply with the threat of a ban.
In addition, Microsoft placed far too low a bid for its operations in the United States and three other English-speaking countries, the initiates put it in the paper. They estimate the probability of an agreement no higher than one in five and say Microsoft’s offer was similar to “robbing someone while his house is on fire”. The chances of Twitter buying TikTok would be even smaller. That social media company would have “simply not enough money”. TikTok’s value before Trump’s sanctions was estimated at USD 50 billion.
Trump has issued a decree that TikTok will be banned in the US in mid-September unless the American branch is sold. According to American politicians, the popular video app collects ‘too much data’ from its users and it could just fall into the hands of the Chinese government, they think.