All companies running to buy TikTok

While CEO Kevin Mayer resigns just three months after joining the company, Japanese Softbank also joins the list of potential buyers

(Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP via Getty Images) TikTok house: CEO Kevin Mayer resigns three months after his appointment, while a new name is added to the list of possible buyers. It would be the Japanese technological-financial holding Softbank, minority shareholder of the Chinese ByteDance, owner of the social network with 800 million active users per month. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has always been at the window, who has given three months since August 14 to sell or spin off TikTok's operations in the United States. Microsoft, Twitter, Netflix and Oracle have already moved on the chessboard.

Mayer justified his decision precisely with the changed political environment regarding the reasons for his appointment: "I have reflected a lot on the structural changes that will be necessary to the company and what it means about the role I signed up for, ”he points out in an internal letter. The executive who arrived from Disney in May greets in an atmosphere overheated by the hypothesis of a lawsuit by TikTok against the Trump administration and while the tussle over the purchase becomes even more intense. According to The Information, SoftBank would have discussed the possibility of entering the operation, but it is not clear whether it wants to team up with another actor or create a new consortium. It would be unlikely that the Japanese tech investor would take the lead, since the Donald would welcome a sale to an American company, based on national security criteria.