Amazon Makes ‘Last-Minute Bid’ to Buy TikTok as US Deadline Looms
Amazon has reportedly made a last-minute bid to buy TikTok in the U.S. as the deadline for the sale of the popular video app approaches on Saturday.
According to a report by The New York Times, Amazon has submitted an offer to purchase TikTok ahead of an April 5 deadline for the Chinese-owned app to find a U.S. buyer or face a ban in the country. The news outlet cited three people who were familiar with the bid.
The bid reportedly came via an offer letter addressed to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
According to The New York Times’ sources, various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with advisers on Wednesday to discuss the fate of TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
On January 19, American social media users briefly had no access to TikTok after a law banning it on national security grounds came into effect.
However, TikTok resumed services hours later and restored access to its 170 million users in the U.S. after Trump issued an executive order to delay the app’s ban. The executive order delayed TikTok’s ban for 75 days, giving the app more time to find a U.S. buyer.
President Trump says a deal for TikTok will be struck before Saturday, April 5. However, he has previously suggested that he will “probably” extend the deadline for the sale of the app.
Who Will Buy TikTok?
Since the executive order, Trump says that he wants to help broker a sale of TikTok– and that he believes the U.S. government should be granted a 50% stake in the company as a condition.
In addition to Amazon’s offer, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian joined a bid to buy TikTok. Microsoft has also reportedly been in talks to buy the app too, according to President Trump.
But it is still unclear whether ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based owner, would be willing to sell the platform, even if the deal were facilitated by Trump.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
