The United States President Donald Trump says Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok.
According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, Trump spoke to reporters on Monday.
Although the president declined to provide a full list of US firms interested in the sale, he said there was “great interest in TikTok”.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said.
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Microsoft declined to comment.
On January 19, TikTok was shut down in the United States following a federal ban over national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership.
The ban temporarily forced TikTok offline, leaving over 170 million US users without access to the platform.
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It also led to TikTok being removed from Apple and Google’s app stores in compliance with federal regulations.
However, on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the ban by 75 days, allowing TikTok to resume operations.
Addressing reporters after signing the order, Trump said the US should receive 50 percent of any proceeds from the potential sale of TikTok in a joint venture proposition.
On January 22, Trump said he was open to the possibility of Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and microblogging platform X, purchasing TikTok.
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