According to the New York Times, Amazon.com has allegedly presented a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok, citing three insiders acquainted with the proposal. This action comes just days before TikTok’s deadline to obtain a non-Chinese purchaser or face the possibility of a ban in the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump is anticipated to discuss TikTok’s future during a session at the Oval Office on Wednesday and may evaluate a final offer concerning the application, as indicated by a White House representative to Reuters on Tuesday.
Amazon has opted not to provide comments on the situation, while TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have not responded to Reuters’ inquiries for a statement. Following the announcement, Amazon’s stock experienced a rise of 1.3 percent amid increased trading activity.
However, various parties engaged in the negotiations reportedly do not consider Amazon’s offer to be genuine, per the New York Times.
The proposal was submitted through a correspondence to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the report.
Amazon’s participation in the bidding process adds to a growing roster of potential acquirers. Last month, Trump suggested that his administration was in contact with four distinct groups about the sale of the platform, although he did not reveal their identities.
- The Bank of Finland ends its 2024 financial year with no Profit
The Bank of Finland concluded its 2024 fiscal year without generating any profit, mirroring the outcome from the prior year, as escalated interest costs on central bank deposits continued to impact earnings. The institution recorded an operational deficit of €1.03 billion, which was entirely balanced by diminishing existing financial reserves.
The private equity firm Blackstone is looking into the possibility of collaborating with existing non-Chinese shareholders of ByteDance, including Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, to inject new capital for a bid to obtain TikTok’s U.S. operations, as noted by Reuters last week.
Additionally, U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly in talks to facilitate an investment that would buy out TikTok’s Chinese stakeholders as part of a bid led by Oracle and other American investors to disentangle the app from ByteDance, as detailed by the Financial Times on Tuesday.
Discussions led by the White House are centered on establishing a U.S. entity for TikTok that would scale back Chinese ownership below the 20 percent threshold mandated by U.S. law, as noted in a Reuters report last month.
The platform, which is used by nearly half of the American population, has faced uncertainty since a bipartisan law enacted in 2024 required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19th.
U.S. authorities assert that TikTok’s link with ByteDance makes it vulnerable to influence from the Chinese government, which could potentially exploit the app to execute operations against the U.S. and gather information on American citizens.
Furthermore, Amazon has attempted to venture into the social media space with its own short-form video and photo feed called Inspire, which was previously incorporated within its mobile app. Recent reports indicated that Amazon has halted the Inspire feature.