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AppLovin and Amazon Emerge as TikTok Bidders Ahead of Trump’s Deadline

Trump is expected to be briefed Wednesday on a framework to keep the video-sharing app operational

A TikTok advertisement in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

A TikTok advertisement in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

Mobile technology company AppLovin APP 1.24%increase; green up pointing triangle has made a bid for TikTok and talked to casino magnate Steve Wynn about backing it, according to people familiar with the matter, joining a flurry of suitors for the video-sharing app. 

The Trump administration’s April 5 deadline to sell or shut down TikTok is fast-approaching, and the president will be briefed Wednesday on a framework that would keep it operational. The geopolitically fraught dealmaking process ultimately requires Beijing’s blessing and is playing out as Trump rolls out his new broad tariff plans.

AppLovin, which some analysts have said could be the next TikTok because of its powerful artificial intelligence that can collect data on app users and use it to tailor ads, has a market cap of $100 billion. AppLovin’s pitch to the Trump administration was that it could solve national security concerns and unleash economic growth as a job creator, according to a person familiar with the matter. Wynn couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

 

Casino magnate Steve Wynn
Casino magnate Steve Wynn PHOTO: PATRICK T. FALLON/BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

The president is expected to review a plan in which cloud computing company Oracle ORCL 2.62%increase; green up pointing triangle, along with several others, would join with existing U.S. investors to make an offer to TikTok-owner ByteDance, according to people familiar with the matter. Private-equity firms Silver Lake and Blackstone are among the investors in talks to potentially participate in a deal, the people said.

Amazon.com AMZN 1.71%increase; green up pointing triangle also submitted a last-minute bid, according to people familiar with the matter. It came via an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, people briefed on it said. The New York Times earlier reported on the bid. 

Various parties who have been involved in the talks said the White House doesn’t view Amazon’s AMZN 1.71%increase; green up pointing triangle bid as one that is likely to progress, the people said. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

Authorities in Beijing have signaled that China would be open to a deal, but see it as part of a cluster of issues it hopes to negotiate with Washington, including tariffs, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking. Chinese officials are awaiting Trump’s tariff plan to be unveiled on Wednesday.

Vance, Lutnick, Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are expected to be in attendance at the Wednesday meeting to discuss a potential TikTok deal. The details of the plan and how the company might operate after such a deal are expected to be determined later, some of the people familiar with the plans said.

Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com, Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com

Author: Dana Mattioli , Jessica Toonkel and Alex Leary

Source: WSJ:

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