ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming "Considering Solutions Without Selling"
ByteDance, Oracle Official Statement Not Released
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] While U.S. media reported that Oracle was selected as the preferred negotiator for the acquisition of TikTok's U.S. operations, Chinese state-run media are releasing reports with a different perspective.
On the 14th, the state-run news agency China News Service cited well-informed sources on its Weibo (China's version of Twitter) account, reporting that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, will not sell TikTok's U.S. business to Microsoft (MS) or Oracle.
The Xin Jing Bao also reported via its Weibo account that "ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming still wants the company to continue its global development" and is "trying to find a solution to avoid selling TikTok's U.S. business."
China Central Television (CCTV)'s English channel CGTN also cited anonymous sources in an online article, reporting that TikTok's U.S. business will not be sold to Oracle.
Earlier, U.S. media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The New York Times (NYT), citing sources, reported that ByteDance selected Oracle as the negotiator for TikTok's U.S. business sale instead of the leading candidate Microsoft (MS).
So far, the only official statement regarding this deal has come from MS. On the afternoon of the 13th (local time), MS issued a statement saying that ByteDance rejected their TikTok acquisition proposal and was eliminated from the bidding. ByteDance and Oracle have not released official statements regarding the sale.
U.S. President Donald Trump, citing national security, demanded that TikTok's U.S. operations be sold to an American company by the 15th, warning that if the deal is not completed, TikTok's U.S. operations will be shut down.
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