Imagine the US’s largest retail chain owning TikTok. Well, it could happen.
According to CNBC, Walmart is teaming up with Microsoft to acquire the video-sharing app, citing TikTok’s ability to integrate e-commerce and advertising.
“We believe a potential relationship with TikTok US in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses,” the retail giant told CNBC in a statement.
“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,” Walmart added.
The retail giant is pursuing the acquisition as it prepares to launch Walmart+, a competitor to Amazon Prime, which offers free shipping on online orders and other benefits for $119 a year.
In the meantime, TikTok appears ready to announce its new owner. On Wednesday night, TikTok CEO Kevin Meyer resigned, writing in an internal memo that company parent ByteDance expects to “reach a resolution very soon.”
CNBC reports TikTok will likely announce a sale in the coming days; a deal for the video-sharing app is expected to cost between $20 billion and $30 billion. Oracle is the other major party interested in buying TikTok.
As for Walmart, it remains unclear how it would use TikTok. But in the second quarter, Walmart’s US e-commerce sales jumped by 97 percent, thanks in part to more customers shopping online during the pandemic.
