Trump says Oracle 'very close to a deal' over ByteDance’s TikTok

US President Donald Trump said on September 15 that Oracle was "very close to a deal" with Chinese parent company ByteDance’s TikTok, which, he heard will hold the majority stakes. On September 14, the Silicon Valley giant announced that it was chosen to be a US technology partner for TikTok, after the company outlasted rivals Microsoft and other suitors, including Twitter, Walmart, and Google. Trump said that the tech giant Oracle was close to “sealing the deal” to deter the ban in the US and might be responsible for the management of TikTok's data, moving forward, and take a minority stake. Trump’s comments were made to the local US media reporters, a day after US officials confirmed the news of Oracle and TikTok’s deal. 

Speaking to the press, the US President said that his administration was going to make a decision “pretty soon”, whether to approve the deal and the partnership and declare the Oracle a “trusted provider" for TikTok. Trump had earlier issued executive orders to not only ban China-owned video app that he links with cybersecurity and national security threats but had also given a deadline to Americans to halt business with the company with immediate effect after August. The company has until September 15 to make a deal, after that, we close it up in this country, Trump told reporters outside the White House, threatening to shut TikTok’s US operations.

According to local agency reports, TikTok-Oracle deal needed approval from the White House and an obscure but powerful  Intelligence Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States known by acronym  CFIUS, a source to the local US broadcaster Journal confirmed. As per a separate Fortune analysis, CFIUS is led by the US Treasury Secretary and composed of the heads of nine powerful agencies, including the Pentagon, the Justice Department, and the Department of Energy. Both the parties, TikTok and Oracle would have to meet the US data security concerns and will be investigated by the low key intelligence agency which has National Security Council on its wing. The "mysterious" US intelligence agency had brief national attention after the 9/11 twin tower bomb blasts when Bush Administration was noted to use CFIUS to block the sale of American ports to an entity owned by the United Arab Emirates in leaked reports. 

Read: Trump Wants 'cut' From TikTok Deal For Its Sale To United States Operations

Read: China Accuses US Of Abusing National Security Concept To Force TikTok Sale

Larry Ellison a 'tremendous person'

A Politico report confirmed that the tech giant Oracle's proposed partnership would also be under scrutiny from officials in Washington and will have to undergo a federal review from the US lawmakers and advocates. However, last month, US President said in a press address that the Oracle could take on TikTok and the company was seriously considering overtaking the app's operations in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. "Oracle is a great company," Trump was heard saying in a live-streamed press conference while answering questions outside the White House. He added, business magnate Larry Ellison, is a "tremendous person" and the software company "could handle it."

Read: Algorithm Question Complicates TikTok Sale: Report

Read: Oracle To Be TikTok's US Operations Partner; Microsoft Bemoans Bytedance Rejecting Its Bid