TEXAS — President Donald Trump this past weekend said he gives his “blessing” to a deal that would see Walmart and Oracle form a partnership that would create a U.S. company with the popular but controversial video-sharing app, TikTok.
Not wasting any time, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday tweeted that he had reached out to the president about locating the company headquarters in the Lone Star State.
“Today I talked to @realDonaldTrump about the @tiktok_us deal. I let him know that if he approves the deal Texas would be the perfect place for the HQ. We’ll see," Abbott wrote.
The Trump administration has gone after Chinese-owned TikTok, citing national security concerns. Proposed restrictions could make it nearly impossible to use the app in the United States.
It’s anticipated Walmart and Oracle will acquire a 20 percent cumulative stake in the company before an initial public stock offering. The deal would make Oracle responsible for hosting all of TikTok’s U.S. user data. Walmart would provide ecommerce, fulfillment, payments, and other services to the company.
“We are pleased that the proposal by TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the U.S. administration and settle questions around TikTok’s future in the U.S.,” TikTok said in a statement.
Trump on Saturday said the new company would hire at least 25,000 people and make a $5 billion contribution to a fund for American education.
On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department said it would bar TikTok from U.S. app stores beginning on Sunday. The Trump administration claims that TikTok and WeChat, another Chinese-owned app that is facing similar scrutiny, could share data collected in the U.S. with the Chinese government.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.