(Reuters) – Facebook Inc and Snapchat owner Snap Inc held talks to buy Dubsmash, the Information reported on Wednesday, putting a spotlight on pop video apps at a time when Microsoft Corp is trying to workout a deal to buy rival TikTok.
Facebook and Snap were no longer in deal talks, the report said.
“We admire the team but aren’t in active talks to acquire,” a Snap spokesman said.
While Dubsmash was not immediately available for a reponse, Facebook said it would not comment on market speculation.
The Dubsmash news comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to ban China’s TikTok and prohibit transactions with its parent ByteDance, if it does not reach a deal with Microsoft to divest itself in 45 days.
Trump has given Microsoft until Sept. 15 to put together a blueprint deal, which could safeguard the personal data of Americans stored on the app.
Dubsmash was approached by both Facebook and Snap about a deal in recent weeks, the Information reported https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-snap-held-talks-to-buy-tiktok-rival-dubsmash, citing a person familiar with the matter, adding that the talks included discussions of a deal value in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Facebook is also facing antitrust scrutiny for acquiring former competitors, including photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
