Walmart is reportedly teaming up with Microsoft to bid for acquiring TikTok, even as a report suggested that Oracle has emerged has the frontrunner to acquire the popular short video app from Chinese parent ByteDance. According to CNBC, which first reported Walmart's interest in TikTok, the company believes that acquiring TikTok will help it to serve its omnichannel customers, as well as grow its ad business, which is expected to boost Walmart's e-commerce division. ByteDance, meanwhile, is reportedly nearing a deal to sell TikTok's US business in the coming days. Not Walmart's first partnership: In fact, before partnering with Microsoft, Walmart had teamed up with Softbank and Alphabet, according to another CNBC report. This deal would reportedly have put Walmart as the lead buyer, with SoftBank and Alphabet acquiring minority stakes. The retailer also wanted to be the exclusive e-commerce and payments provider for TikTok and have access to user data. However, the US administration reportedly wants the lead buyer of TikTok to be a technology company so that user data could be stored in the US. Walmart doesn't have a cloud technology component, which is possibly why it has decided to team up with Microsoft so that user data can be stored on the company's Azure cloud setup. TikTok has repeatedly said that it stores all Americans' data in the US and Singapore. Oracle's chances of buying TikTok look strong: According to The Wrap, Larry Ellison's Oracle also looks in prime position to acquire TikTok, for a proposed deal…
