Reuters
Dan Ives, leading executive and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC monday that a TikTok acquisition could raise $200 billion to Microsoft’s market capitalization in 3 years if the deal is reached.
Ives said he believes there is a 75% to 80% chance that the deal will materialize, adding that the estimate “could be conservative.”
Ives added that Microsoft lately does not have a social media platform outside of LinkedIn, so “there are no regulatory or antitrust issues.” “Right now, leverage is with Microsoft,” the analyst said.
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Ives said the acquisition of TikTok would give Microsoft an “important role in social media.” In the quarter that ended March 31, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times, according to TechCrunch. This is the highest number of downloads of an app in a quarter.
The Wedbush Securities analyst has a higher performance score and a $260 value target for Microsoft. Ives raised the target to $220 on July 9.