Oracle beats out Microsoft to buy TikTok's US operations

The deal reportedly won't be structured as an outright 'sale,' though

Oracle has been selected to purchase TikTok's US operations over Microsoft — though, according to The Wall Street Journal, the deal won't be structured as a sale. Minutes before the news broke, Microsoft revealed that it wouldn't be involved in any deal even though it reportedly had Trump's blessing ahead of the app's anticipated ban.

We'll probably know more about the deal in the upcoming days, but The Wall Street Journal claims that Oracle has been selected over other suitors in the TikTok US bidding war, salvaging the service's operations ahead of the September 15th ban. However, possibly as a result of China's objections, the deal won't be structured as a straight acquisition. Oracle will instead be named a "trusted tech partner," and presumably, that will be enough to satisfy national security paranoia interests.

In its statement regarding not being selected, Microsoft highlighted that it would have "made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation," though we have to assume that Oracle will be doing the same if the deal gets US approval.

Presumably, we'll hear more about the regarding this don't-call-it-an-acquisition in the coming days.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft