Oracle founder donated $250K to Republican Graham before TikTok deal

According to a report in The Verge on Saturday, US Federal Election Commission documents show that Ellison made the $250,000 donation on September 14.

San Francisco: As the Cloud giant inched closer to win the TikTok deal in the US, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison donated $250,000 to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Senator Lindsey Graham’s (Republican-South Carolina) re-election campaign, the media reported.

According to a report in The Verge on Saturday, US Federal Election Commission documents show that Ellison made the $250,000 donation on September 14.

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“The timing of the larger donation is also remarkable, coming mere hours after Oracle officially announced that it had been chosen as TikTok’s technology partner for its US operations, beating out Microsoft in a high-profile bidding process to save the popular video app,” the report claimed.

In a surprise move, Oracle and Walmart finally came together to save TikTok from the US ban, forming a new company called TikTok Global which will be headquartered in the US.

Oracle announced it was chosen as TikTok’s secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5 per cent stake.

Walmart said it has tentatively agreed to a purchase 7.5 per cent stake in TikTok and its CEO Doug McMillon would serve as one of the five board members of the newly-created company.

The parent company ByteDance will own the remaining 80 per cent of TikTok.

US President Donald Trump said he gave the deal his blessing. Senator Graham was reportedly pivotal in arranging the deal.

In an interview with Vanity Fair in August, Graham said that he personally called Trump to suggest that he find a US company to purchase the platform in order to remedy the administration’s concerns over the app’s relationship with China.

“If TikTok is saved, you can thank me,” he said.

Graham is currently locked in a tight race for reelection to the US Senate for South Carolina against Democratic opponent Jaime Harrison, the report said.