TikTok争夺战又添新名！沃尔玛宣布联手微软参与竞购

昨日，TikTok CEO凯文·梅耶尔请辞的消息得到官方确认，字节跳动表示：尊重凯文的决定，也感谢他为TikTok付出的努力。

这天距离他高调宣布加入字节跳动，还不足三个月。

履新字节跳动之前，凯文已经在迪士尼工作过二十多年。入职字节跳动后，他被寄厚望于扛起TikTok国际化的大旗，助力字节跳动在全球范围的进一步壮大。

让人始料未及的是，随后TikTok却陷入“多事之秋”，不仅公司接连遭到印度和美国政府的双重抵制，特朗普更步步紧逼，签署行政令禁止美国公司与其进行交易，如今TikTok美国业务又面临强制出售。据美国媒体报道，美国政府和字节跳动不断升级的对抗产生的工作阻力及多重舆论顾虑使得梅耶尔的离职成为必然选择。

正如凯文在其离职信中所讲，在政治环境急剧变化的背景下，如何实现公司结构的改变， 他需要进行反思。

接下来TikTok北美总经理瓦妮莎·帕帕斯将暂代TikTok全球负责人，接管美国业务。

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has resigned just months after becoming chief executive of the Chinese video-sharing app, prompted by a series of changes to the company's structure "as a result of the Trump administration's action to push for a sell-off of the U.S. business," according to a letter to employees on Thursday seen by CGTN.

"I have decided to leave the company," Mayer said in the letter, explaining that "As the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require... and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon." 

In a reply to Mayer's letter," Zhang Yiming, chairman of ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, said, "I fully understand that the resulting outcome that we land upon due to the political circumstances... could have a significant impact on his job in any scenario, but particularly given his global role while he's based in the U.S."  

U.S. President Donald Trump on August 6 issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with ByteDance starting in 45 days. A week later, Trump signed another executive order, extending the deal time to 90 days.

尽管TikTok的CEO离职已板上钉钉，但围绕Tiktok出售展开的一系列谈判，仍在轰轰烈烈的进行着，TikTok最终花落谁家，依旧众说纷纭。

据CNBC27日报道，有消息称TikTok很可能会在未来48小时内与微软达成出售交易。

受此消息影响，微软在美股开盘后一路上扬，涨幅一度超过4%。

此外，美国零售企业巨头沃尔玛27日发布声明，证实将与微软联手收购TikTok，并表达了对TikTok在电商业务的拓展能力和广告功能整合上的浓厚兴趣。参与竞购的消息既出，沃尔玛的股票应声而涨，涨幅近6%。

在声明中，沃尔玛解释了此次与微软寻求合作竞购TikTok的理由：

“我们相信，和微软一起与TikTok美国建立潜在关系，有望增添这项关键功能，为沃尔玛提供一种重要的方式，使我们能够接触并服务于全渠道客户，并发展我们的第三方市场和广告业务。”

此外，沃尔玛强调，与微软建立合作伙伴关系后，能够在消除美国政府监管方面顾虑的同时，满足美国TikTok用户的期望。

一直扮演传统零售商角色的沃尔玛也加入到竞购TikTok的队伍当中，虽让不少人感到意外，但分析人士认为，拥有TikTok对于沃尔玛而言，绝非一个“冲动的决定”。

多年来，沃尔玛围绕线上业务已经开展了无数探索，但始终收效平平，而TikTok聚集的近8亿全球活跃用户和正风生水起的电子商务业务一旦被沃尔玛收入囊中，能够帮助其迅速拓展跨虚拟和实体销售渠道，为电商业务带来更多可能。

Walmart Inc said it was joining Microsoft in a bid for the U.S. assets of the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok's, revealing its plans hours after the company's chief executive said he would step down.

Walmart announced its plans. The retailer lauded TikTok's integration of e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets and said that a three-way partnership could bring that integration to the United States. The deal would help Walmart reach customers across virtual and physical sales channels and grow its online marketplace and its advertising business. Walmart shares rose six percent. 

"We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of U.S. government regulators," Walmart said in a statement.

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