Due to the impending TikTok ban in the US, Microsoft (and Twitter) is already in talks with parent company ByteDance and interested in purchasing the US portion of the business — that would likely be the only way a ban could be averted. Now it looks like another player has entered the field, as the Financial Times reports that Oracle is also interested in purchasing the hit social network.

The publication reports that the Californian software corporation already had preliminary talks with ByteDance and that it was working with venture capital firms like General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital to acquire parts of TikTok. It's reportedly interested in the company's US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand business, just like Microsoft. However, ByteDance apparently opposes such a move and is only ready to part with its US operations, if it even has to come to that.

No matter which US company ultimately ends up purchasing the US portion of ByteDance's business, there are still many open questions and further legal hurdles. Would a US-only TikTok be sealed off from the international version of the social network due to privacy concerns? Or would users still be able to see each others' posts no matter which company owns TikTok in their country? Only time will tell.

Source: Financial Times