A US-OWNED software company with a key site in Reading is currently in a bidding war for popular video app TikTok.

With a base in Thames Valley Park, the wider Oracle company - not to be confused with The Oracle Shopping Centre - is thought to be the favourite contender to buy the hugely popular social app.

READ MORE: Homes to be left without power for HOURS

Microsoft dropped out of negotiations with Chinese-company Bytedance on Sunday night, the BBC reports.

A spokesman from Oracle Reading told The Chronicle: "Oracle confirms Secretary Mnuchin’s statement that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the Treasury Department over the weekend in which Oracle will serve as the trusted technology provider.

"Oracle has a 40-year track record providing secure, high performance technology solutions."

The multinational computer technology corporation, headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, sells database software and technology, cloud engineered systems, and enterprise software products—particularly its own brands of database management systems.

READ MORE: ANOTHER Reading school announces Covid-19 case

In 2019, Oracle was the second-largest software company by revenue and market capitalization.

According to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Oracle's involvement in TikTok will not be an outright sale but instead a "tech partnership".