Twitter in Talks with ByteDance On a Potential Merger

The Wall Street Journal has recently reported that TikTok and Twitter are in talks on a potential merger despite the app defending itself against President Trump’s executive orders to force the ban or sale of the business. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bytedance and Twitter already had preliminary talks about a potential merger of the publicly traded social media giant with TikTok’s operations in the U.S.

The Journal also noted that while Microsoft remains at the front-runner of TikTok’s business in the US there is a potential for the video streaming services to tie-up with Twitter for North American business.

Since TikTok is valued between $15 billion and $50 billion dollars any Twitter bid for its business would be bolstered by additional investors which are far too big for Twitter with a market capitalization of $29 billion. After last week’s executive order signed by President Trump that aims to force a sale or ban TikTok’s US operations, Bytedance has to find a buyer before Sept. 15.

Till now the two major bidders for TikTok are Twitter and Microsoft, however, there can still be more in the coming weeks. There is also a potential that any sale could be scuttled by TikTok’s lawsuits to challenge the executive order.

Also Read: Twitter Recorded Yearly Growth in Daily Users

If Twitter acquired TikTok’s operations in the U.S. it would add a huge pillar to the company’s business. It will also add a massive new user base which will change the demographics of their user base.

While Microsoft and TikTok’s parent ByteDance are already in talks on a potential deal for weeks, Trump’s statements have given rise to concern among the potential buyers. However, as Trump told reporters that he planned to ban TikTok, the companies were caught off guard. Many companies have paused their discussions with ByteDance until they had more clarity on the subject.