ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Amazon has made a last-minute Bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, just days before an April 5 deadline for the Chinese-owned video platform to secure a buyer, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The unexpected move by the e-commerce and tech giant adds further uncertainty to TikTok’s future as regulatory scrutiny intensifies.
Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, must sell its U.S. business to a non-Chinese entity by January 19, 2025, or face a ban.
READ ALSO: TikTok Shop Makes Debut In The US
TikTok briefly halted operations in the U.S. on January 18 but resumed after former President Donald Trump issued an executive order extending the deadline by 75 days, setting a new cutoff date of April 5.
With less than four days remaining, TikTok’s fate remains unresolved.
If no deal is reached, the app could be banned, though details on enforcement remain unclear.
Several companies have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, including private equity giant Blackstone.
Meanwhile, U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly seeking outside investment to help buy out TikTok’s Chinese stakeholders.
The bid, led by Oracle and a coalition of American investors, aims to separate TikTok from ByteDance, according to The Financial Times.
ByteDance has yet to provide updates on the sale process, leaving the future of TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users uncertain.