Microsoft tries to salvage deal to buy TikTok, appease Trump

Talks to buy TikTok will move quickly ‘in a matter of weeks’ and are expected to be completed no later than Sept 15, Microsoft said, adding that it will continue to engage Trump and the US government. — AFP

In a bid to salvage a deal for the US operations of TikTok, Microsoft Corp chief executive officer Satya Nadella spoke with US president Donald Trump by phone about how to secure the administration’s blessing to buy the wildly popular, but besieged, music video app.

Microsoft said in a blog post on Aug 2 that talks to buy TikTok’s operations in the US, as well as in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, will move quickly and are expected to be completed no later than Sept 15.