Oracle boots out Microsoft and wins bid for TikTok, reports say

Enterprise provider Oracle  is said to have won the bidding war for the U.S. operations of TikTok, a chase in which Microsoft was booted from earlier today.

A TikTok  spokesperson said the company “[doesn’t] comment on rumors or speculation.” Oracle did not immediately respond to TechCrunch for comment.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Oracle, a rare ally of the Trump administration in Silicon Valley, will be announced as TikTok’s “trusted tech partner” in the United States. Additionally, the Journal cites that a person familiar with the matter says the deal is “likely not to be structured as an outright sale.”

Oracle’s alleged purchase of TikTok’s U.S. operations would put an end to the unclear fate of the app within the country. The app’s reported buy comes days before September 20, the day that the Trump administration set for a ban on TikTok’s operations if the company doesn’t reach an agreement with a buyer. But there’s much confusion about which deadline TikTok will adhere to as Trump said last week “there will be no extension” of the September 15 deadline.

On Sunday, Microsoft said its bid for the U.S. operations of TikTok has been rejected by the app’s parent company, ByteDance.

“We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests,” the statement read, stating that Microsoft would make “significant changes” around security, privacy, online safety, and disinformation.

“We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas,” the statement added.

Issues and fears around TikTok’s security has been a flagship issue for the app. TikTok was banned in India, along with 58 other apps, due to “national security and defence” issues. India was TikTok’s biggest overseas market.

In addition to Microsoft, a number of prominent tech companies have rumored to be in the market for TikTok’s U.S. operations such as Twitter, Google, and Walmart. But, as our Ron Miller pointed out, there’s some reason toward why a company like Oracle would crave an app like TikTok: marketshare.

Read more: techcrunch