The bidding war for TikTok has reached a pivotal point, according to reports published today, and Oracle Corp. may have the strongest chance to emerge as the buyer.

The U.S. version of TikTok is being sold off by owner ByteDance Ltd. as a result of an executive order issued this month. The app, which has about 100 million users in the U.S. and is reportedly experiencing strong revenue growth, has drawn interest from multiple would-be acquirers. Oracle and Microsoft Corp. are seen as the strongest contenders to buy the company, though others including Twitter Inc. reportedly also expressed interest.

Sources told CNBC today that TikTok could formally announce a deal in the coming days. Separately, an insider with knowledge of the talks told entertainment industry publication The Wrap that Oracle has “taken the lead position” in the bidding war with a proposal worth over $20 billion. Oracle is said to be offering TikTok owner ByteDance $10 billion in stock, $10 billion in cash and half of the profit TikTok generates over the next two years.

That lines up with the report from CNBC, which cited its sources as saying the sale is expected to be valued at $20 billion to $30 billion. But Oracle is likely to face stiff competition in the final stretch of the negotiations.

Microsoft, the other bidder seen as having a realistic chance of buying TikTok, has teamed up with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to boost its odds. Walmart confirmed the tie-up in a statement sent out today.

Walmart has a long-running relationship with Microsoft and hosts key parts of its information technology infrastructure on Azure. However, that’s just one of the factors behind the companies’ decision to team up for the bid. They also appear to share an interest in the potential of TikTok to serve as an e-commerce platform. 

“The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets,” said a Walmart spokesperson. “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok U.S. in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses.”

If the companies manage to beat Oracle to a deal, TikTok could effectively become a component of Walmart’s strategy to compete with Amazon.com Inc. in the e-commerce market. Microsoft, it’s worth noting, competes with Amazon’s Amazon Web Services Inc. business. Buying TikTok would represent a major departure for both Microsoft and Oracle, regardless of which ends up making the winning bid, since neither company has a presence in the consumer social media segment.

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