Walmart has announced that it’s joining Microsoft in bidding for social media video app TikTok, CNBC reported. Sources told the publication that the deal is likely to be in the $20 billion to $30 billion range.
Since July, the China-owned app has faced mounting pressure to sell its business to a U.S. company or risk being banned. The Trump administration has said the app poses a threat to national security, although TikTok has maintained that it’s not sharing data with China.
Microsoft and Oracle previously announced that they would be bidding on the tech company, which boasts 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and more than two billion downloads worldwide.
Company CEO resigns
Walmart didn’t say exactly how it would use TikTok, only that the deal would provide it 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,” the company told CNBC.
Amid talks over selling the company, TikTok's Chief Executive Kevin Mayer has resigned. Mayer, who took the job just three months ago, announced Wednesday night that "corporate structural changes" played a role in his decision to step down.
"In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for," Mayer said in a memo to employees, according to CNN. "Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company."