TikTok Founder Meets Walmart Chief Privately, Fuels Speculation Over Possible Deal To Avert Ban

Last week, while the U.S. pummeled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over its ties to China, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming quietly flew to Arkansas to meet with the CEO of Walmart Inc WMT.
However, the topic of discussion between Yimimg and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon remains undisclosed, New York Post reports.
Two years ago, Walmart had been in talks to partner with Oracle Corp ORCL to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations under pressure from the Trump administration.
Under the proposed deal with Oracle, Walmart reportedly would have taken a 7.5% in TikTok’s U.S. unit, and McMillon would have taken a seat on the board. However, insiders find the chances of such a deal less likely.
ByteDance, in recent weeks, has snubbed the prospect of a sale of its U.S. business. Last week, China said it would “firmly oppose” any such deal.
ByteDance’s public opposition to a sale reportedly amounts to little more than playing hard to get their only way to get a full value for the divestment.
A former CFIUS official said the Chinese government has no say over U.S. assets in U.S. jurisdiction, and the U.S. could force a sale at any time.
Most legislation that aims to crack down on TikTok calls for a complete ban of the app in the U.S. rather than a divestiture.
Last Thursday, Chew’s testimony before Congress proved a “disaster.”
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives pegged the likelihood of an outright ban at “90%-plus” as Chew “came off [as] evasive” around the “sensitive China data topic.”
Price Action: WMT shares closed higher by 1.01% at $145.68 on Thursday.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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