TikTok: "Thriller and Acquisition Negotiation Rumors Are Groundless"

CNBC Likely to Announce Acquirer as Early as the 1st

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing application facing pressure to be expelled by the Trump administration, denied rumors of acquisition talks with the U.S. competitor app Triller, CNBC reported on the 31st (local time).

A TikTok spokesperson stated, "We will not negotiate with Triller now or in the future," adding, "We are glad to know how much Triller envies TikTok."

In response, Bobby Sarnevesht, chairman of Triller, claimed that they had submitted an acquisition proposal to TikTok, saying, "We do not pretend to bid without actually bidding," and "We have received confirmation of the acquisition proposal from Zhang Yiming, chairman of ByteDance, TikTok's parent company."

He added, "It seems that information sharing within TikTok is delayed."

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that UK asset management firm Centricus and Triller were jointly negotiating to acquire TikTok's business units in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and India for $20 billion.

CNBC reported that the acquisition deal between Microsoft (MS) and TikTok could reach about $30 billion (approximately 35.5 trillion KRW), raising doubts about Centricus's funding capacity, as the assets under management by Centricus amount to only $27 billion.

Meanwhile, CNBC cited sources on the same day, reporting that ByteDance might select and announce a TikTok buyer as early as the 1st. Oracle is currently considered a strong acquisition candidate.

According to the executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, ByteDance must sell TikTok's U.S. business unit by September 15, or its use will be banned within the United States.