Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Oracle has expressed an interest in acquiring TikTok, according to the Financial Times, giving Microsoft a potential competitor in its bid to control the Chinese social video app in the US. Larry Ellison’s company has reportedly held preliminary talks with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance already and is “seriously considering” acquiring its business in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
President ***** issued an executive order on Friday ordering ByteDance to sell its US business within 90 days. The FT notes that Oracle’s billionaire co-founder Ellison is one of the few US tech executives to be openly supportive of *****, though it’s not clear whether Oracle would be the White House’s preferred suitor for TikTok.
A deal to buy…