Amazon Makes Eleventh-Hour Bid for TikTok

Amazon has reportedly placed an eleventh-hour bid to acquire video app/social commerce platform TikTok.

The offer, as reported Wednesday (April 2) by The New York Times (NYT), comes just days ahead of a deadline that requires TikTok’s owner ByteDance to divest the platform or face a ban.

However, sources familiar with Amazon’s bid tell NYT that parties involved in the negotiations did not appear to be taking the offer seriously. One source said the offer came in a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Amazon has partnered with TikTok in the past, agreeing last year to let the app’s users buy products from the eCommerce giant without leaving the TikTok platform.

“Customers who choose to link their accounts in the U.S. will see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates and product details on select Amazon product ads in TikTok as part of the experiences,” an Amazon spokesperson said of the collaboration.

A separate report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) also touched on the Amazon bid, while mentioning another player: mobile technology company AppLovin. Sources tell WSJ that the firm has talked to casino magnate Steve Wynn about supporting its effort.

WSJ noted that some analysts have called AppLovin a potential “next TikTok” thanks to its powerful artificial intelligence that can gather data on app users and use that information to tailor ads. The company has a market cap of $100 billion.

ByteDance, a Chinese company, has until April 5 to find a new owner for TikTok. The ban stems from a law last year — supported by both major parties — calling for ByteDance to divest due to national security concerns.

President Donald Trump, who had supported a ban during his first turn in the White House, reversed course during his campaign last year, pledging to save TikTok even after the ban was upheld by the Supreme Court.

However, Trump upon taking office gave TikTok until this weekend to find a new owner. The president said recently that he expected a new owner to be named by April 5.

“We have a lot of potential buyers,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “There’s tremendous interest in Tiktok … I’d like to see Tiktok remain alive.”

Other rumored bidders include Oracle, joined by American investment groups such as Andreessen Horowitz, per recent reports.