U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will ban TikTok.

He earlier cited the issue of national security as a reason to ban TikTok, as well as other social media apps.

Trump had earlier told reporters he didn’t support the deal involving Microsoft buying TikTok, NBC News reported.

A TikTok acquisition could make Microsoft more concentrated on consumer technology, which Microsoft has pivoted away from in recent years.

As a major provider of business software, Microsoft had exited the smartphone hardware, fitness hardware and e-book markets.

Microsoft had been consistent in its strategy on acquiring “networked assets” with many users, including LinkedIn, Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said in 2018.

However the President appeared to do a U-turn at the White House on August 3.

According to The New York Times, the president expressed his support for a Microsoft takeover of TikTok.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said he would not mind if "Microsoft or another very secure, “very American” company bought it instead".

He however once again ruled out letting China control it "for security reasons". Trump gave a deadline of September 15 for any potential deals to happen.

Trump also said that the U.S. should get a "very large percentage" of the eventual price the two companies settle on, if it goes through, because "we're making it possible".

So how much is TikTok worth?

According to Financial Times, the current range under discussion is rather broad: between US$15 billion and US$30 billlion.

That figure might be further complicated by the rather unusual nature of the deal.

Image from Getty and YouTube