What you need to know
- Walmart confirmed that it is teaming up with Microsoft in a bid to purchase TikTok.
- TikTok could be sold in or around the next 48 hours, according to previous reports.
- The sale of TikTok could be in the range of $20 billion to $30 billion.
Microsoft appears to have a new partner in its pursuit of TikTok, Walmart. The retail giant confirmed to CNBC that it is teaming up with Microsoft in a bid for TikTok.
According to sources that spoke with CNBC, Tiktok is close to an agreement to sell its operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The deal is likely to be worth $20 billion to $30 billion, according to CNBC's sources.
According to previous reports, TikTok could be sold in or around the next 48 hours.
Microsoft is in competition with Oracle to purchase TikTok, but the potential addition of Walmart to a bid could affect how things move forward.
Walmart said in a statement:
We believe a potential relationship with TikTok US in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses ... We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of US TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of US government regulators.
It's unclear at this time how Walmart would utilize TikTok if it was successful in purchasing the company. Walmart did tell CNBC that TikTok's integration of e-commerce and advertising "is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets."
