Will Microsoft’s Tik-Tok deal burst during the negotiations? According to an insider, the chances of a takeover are now only 20 percent. Microsoft founder Bill Gates was also critical of the planned deal.
An unknown source has provided Hong Kong’s largest English-language daily newspaper, the South China Morning Post, with information according to which a Tik-Tok deal by Microsoft is becoming increasingly unlikely.
The source is a Microsoft employee who is informed about the status of the negotiations but does not want to be named. According to him, the chances of a takeover of Tik-Tok are now only 20 percent.
The price that the US software giant Microsoft wants to pay for the short video platform would be, according to the person, “comparable to the robbery of a homeowner whose house is currently on fire”.
Will Microsoft’s Tik-Tok deal fall through?
Analyst Daniel Ives of the private financial services and investment firm Wedbush Securities says that Tik Tok could be worth an estimated $200 billion at some point. But Microsoft would only have a purchase sum of about 30 billion US dollars in mind.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Twitter has also expressed interest in Tik Tok. The short news platform, however, does not have enough equity to finance a possible deal. Microsoft would therefore have the better cards economically.
However, the Tik-Tok deal could burst through the software giant if it is not willing to put more money on the table.
Bill Gates voices criticism of planned Tik-Tok deal
Maybe it’s also good that the Tik-Tok deal hasn’t gone through yet. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has now also commented on the planned deal – and in an extremely critical manner.
In an interview with the US magazine Wired, he described the deal as a “poisoned chalice” that could cause Microsoft lasting damage.
Although Gates also points out that a purchase could create more competition again, “which is probably a good thing”. But above all it is “bizarre” how Trump is probably trying to knock down the “only challenger”.
Currently, Facebook is the undisputed market leader. In order to hold its own against Tik Tok, the company has also recently launched the new Reels function on its subsidiary platform Instagram. It is strongly reminiscent of Tik Tok and is intended to attract users and creators to the photo network.
Tik Tok comes under pressure
There is not much time left for Tik Tok and Microsoft. The short video platform is coming under increasing time pressure due to the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump.
If Tik Tok is not sold by mid-September, Trump stops all transactions with the Chinese service.
