In August 2020, as President Trump threatened to ban TikTok, the Chinese video app’s owner ByteDance approached Microsoft as a possible partner. Ultimately TikTok chose rival Oracle although that deal also never happened. The plan was to force the sale of the US part of the business over concerns it was a threat to national security. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella has described the proposed deal to buy TikTok, under pressure from the Trump White House, as “the strangest thing”. Why do you think the Acquisition failed ?

