E-commerce giant Amazon emerged as a last-minute bidder for U.S. assets of the popular social media app TikTok. Amazon’s bid comes just days ahead of the April 5 deadline given to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform’s U.S. unit or face another ban.
ByteDance initially had a deadline of January 19 to sell TikTok in the U.S. or face a ban on national security grounds. However, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to postpone the deadline for 75 days with the intention of working out a deal that would see American owners take control of TikTok.
According to a report by the New York Times, Amazon signaled its intention to buy TikTok earlier this week by sending a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. However, due to the nature and timing of the bid, the parties involved in negotiations are not taking it seriously.
Amazon’s interest in TikTok shouldn’t come as a surprise. TikTok is establishing itself as an emerging e-commerce platform while the two companies already have an established partnership that allows users to make purchases on Amazon through their TikTok app.
Cloud giant Oracle and alternative investor Blackstone are currently considered among the most serious bidders for TikTok. Sources close to negotiations say that a potential deal involving these two companies would allow ByteDance to keep an unspecified stake while also being provided with additional investments from its existing U.S. shareholders.