American multinational retail corporation Walmart Inc. has teamed up with technology giants Microsoft in a bid to acquire TikTok, according to a Bloomberg report. The move signals Walmart’s desire to enter the technology market and in turn reach young shoppers.

Walmart, in an emailed statement to Bloomberg, stated that the move would accelerate the growth of its third-party online marketplace unit along with the dormant advertising arm, two areas which it’s chief executive officer Doug McMillon had expressed his desire to expand.

Microsoft is already working hand in hand with Walmart, as the latter uses Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform across all arms of the company, as per Bloomberg.

Walmart’s shares jumped by at least 3.6 % to $135.47 in New York after the news of the company’s joint pursuit of TikTok came to light on August 27.

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Microsoft has been in pursuit to buy TikTok’s business in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Oracle Corp. and Twitter have also emerged as potential bidders in buying TikTok, stated Bloomberg. However, Microsoft is the only company to have confirmed acquisition talks publicly.

Walmart’s interest to purchase TikTok is indicative of CEO McMillion’s intent of becoming one of the biggest players in the media and content industry.

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The company is also in partnership with Israeli video- production company Eko, and the latter has developed interactive toy catalogs for Walmart.

TikTok, owned by China-based Byte-Dance Ltd. was expanding its operations in the US when President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US assets within 90 days.