ByteDance offers to forgo stake in TikTok to clinch US deal: sources
TikTok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration taken on November 27, 2019.
China's ByteDance has agreed to divest the US operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after US President Donald Trump said on Friday he had decided to ban the popular short-video app, Reuters quoted an anonymous source on Saturday.
ByteDance was previously seeking to keep a minority stake in the US business of TikTok, which the White House had rejected. Under the new proposed deal, ByteDance would exit completely and Microsoft Corp would take over TikTok in the United States, the sources said. Some ByteDance investors based in the United States may be given the opportunity to take minority stakes in the business, the sources added.
People familiar with the matter told CGTN that the divestment is true, but it's not clear whether the US operation will be sold to Microsoft.
Under ByteDance's new proposal, Microsoft will be in charge of protecting all US user data, the sources said. The plan allows for another US company other than Microsoft to take over TikTok in the country, the sources added.
The White House did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on whether Trump would accept ByteDance's concession.
Both Microsoft and ByteDance did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
