From this morning's Wall Street Journal:
"Backers of a proposed new group to take over Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok are working to create an ownership structure that would give U.S. interests a majority stake, in an effort to ease the Trump administration’s security concerns.
"Under the latest plan for TikTok, Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. could together own a significant stake, according to people familiar with the situation. That move, if combined with existing American investors, could put majority ownership in U.S. hands, the people said.
"Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon is expected to get a board seat if the deal goes through, said some of the people familiar with the matter. As part of the current plan, TikTok would file for a U.S. initial public offering in about a year, said one of these people.
"Walmart, which previously looked to join with Microsoft Corp. on a TikTok deal, has been looking to ramp up its online presence to generate new revenue streams."
TikTok's Chinese owners ByteDance Ltd. has been seeking a structure that would alleviate US concerns about data mining and get President Trump to sign off on a deal.
- KC's View:
-
There was no way that Walmart was going to let this deal get away from it if there were any way it could stay involved. It may end up being one of the most significant investments the company has made, if using TikTok in the US to create a robust and profitable third-party marketplace has the desired results.
