Microsoft CEO Calls TikTok Deal ‘Strangest Thing’ He’s Worked On

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., gestures as he speaks during a panel session on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. World leaders, influential executives, bankers and policy makers attend the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from Jan. 21 - 24. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg News

Sep 27, 2021

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(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said the company’s bid to acquire the U.S. assets of ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok was the “strangest thing” he’s ever worked on.

The CEO reflected on the potential deal at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday. The transaction fell through last year, and Nadella says he’s happy with “what I have” when asked about more potential acquisitions.

Microsoft had been prepared to spend tens of billions of dollars to acquire the U.S. assets of TikTok, the viral video-sharing app heavily used by young people. But ByteDance chose to pursue a rival TikTok bid from a group led by Oracle Corp. -- a deal that also failed to materialize.

The takeover frenzy stemmed from a move by President Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok from operating in the country, arguing that the Chinese-owned company posed national-security threats. In June, President Joe Biden decided to not to pursue the Trump-era ban.

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