Oracle approached ByteDance in advance about a possible bid for part of TikTok and decided to counter a similar offer from Microsoft, according to the Financial Times. Larry Ellison, a multimillionaire entrepreneur, is collaborating with US investors, including General Atlantic and Seqoia Capital, to review an invitation for the US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand viral video app operations, according to the FT citing knowledgeable people in this region.

Oracle ‘s entry would threaten the bargaining power of Microsoft because Redmond was the only party to publicly announce that it was in talks with ByteDance. On Friday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered ByteDance, in addition to a previous order prohibiting the United States from entering into business with the firm TikTok, to sell its assets within 90 days from 6 August.