Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s bid to acquire the US assets of ByteDance’s TikTok was the “strangest thing” he’s ever worked on.
The CEO reflected on the potential deal at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday. The transaction fell through last year, and Nadella says he’s happy with “what I have” when asked about more potential acquisitions.
Microsoft had been prepared to spend tens of billions of dollars to acquire the US assets of TikTok, the viral video-sharing app heavily used by young people. But ByteDance chose to pursue a rival TikTok bid from a group led by Oracle — a deal that also failed to materialise.
The takeover frenzy stemmed from a move by former US President Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok from operating in the country, arguing that the Chinese-owned company posed national security threats. In June, President Joe Biden decided to not to pursue the Trump-era ban. — (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP