China and U.S. flags are seen near a TikTok logo in this illustration picture taken July 16, 2020.
Florence Lo | Reuters
Approval of Oracle’s deal to become a “trusted technology provider” for ByteDance’s TikTok will be announced on Tuesday afternoon, CNBC’s Jim Cramer reported. A source familiar with the matter later confirmed to CNBC’s Eamon Javers that a decision could come Tuesday.
Oracle confirmed Monday it had struck a deal with the popular video-sharing app’s Chinese parent company. Oracle had been a dark horse in the competition over TikTok, with Microsoft emerging as the first known bidder with Walmart later joining its offer. But ByteDance rejected Microsoft’s bid to buy TikTok’s U.S. assets, Microsoft confirmed Sunday.
Oracle’s plans to become a “trusted technology provider” for TikTok falls short of President Donald Trump’s demand for a full acquisition of the company’s U.S. business. That could make the deal trickier to gain support from U.S. officials who still must approve the deal, though could assuage some concerns from Chinese officials about a forced sale. Oracle’s leadership has maintained a close relationship with the Trump administration, however, with CEO Safra Catz previously taking part in Trump’s transition team and Chairman Larry Ellison hosting a fundraiser for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign earlier this year.
Trump threatened to ban TikTok from the U.S. if it did not reach a deal to sell its U.S. business in a way that resolved national security concerns with the app. Government leaders across the political spectrum have expressed concern that Chinese officials could access data from U.S. users through the app’s Chinese parent company, though TikTok has repeatedly denied this accusation and no evidence that such data has been accessed has been made public.
An executive order that would effectively ban the TikTok is set to go into effect on Sept. 20, though approval of the deal could absolve concerns before then.
WATCH: Cramer on Oracle-TikTok partnership: ‘I think there’s a deal as soon as today’
