Oracle’s TikTok Purchase On Hold Indefinitely

Oracle’s bid to purchase TikTok, in conjunction with Walmart, is on hold indefinitely as a result of the change in administration.

The Trump administration aggressively went after a number of Chinese companies, including Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi and TikTok, accusing them of being a threat to national security. The administration instituted bans against the first three, and was in the process of banning TikTok unless it could arrange for a US buyer to take over its operations.

Oracle emerged as the winning candidate, along with help from Walmart, but the deal got caught up in red tape and disputesover how much control Oracle would actually have. Ultimately, even TikTok was left wondering about its fate, with a judge effectively granting it a stay of execution in the form a temporary injunction against the ban The judge also questioned whether the administration had the authority to ban the app in the first place.

The Biden administration is currently reviewing the previous administration’s actions regarding various Chinese companies, and that has put the Oracle/TikTok deal in limbo.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration has asked to a delay an appeal against the injunction while it reviews the situation to see if the Trump administration’s actions were warranted.

Needless to say, TikTok would no doubt prefer to remain independent. As a result, if there is a chance the current administration will abandon efforts to ban the app unless its purchased by a US company, there’s no incentive for talks to continue until the Biden administration reaches a conclusion.