09:45 AM EST, 01/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Amazon.com ( AMZN ) could benefit from a potential combination with TikTok, Morgan Stanley said in a Friday note.

The investment firm said that, as chances of a TikTok divestiture by ByteDance seem to be increasing, a potential tie-up could be a "strong strategic fit" for Amazon ( AMZN ) as it would allow the tech giant to improve its "social shopping/ad network offering."

A potential combination would also allow Amazon ( AMZN ) to become an "even more viable 'number 3' digital ad player" behind Alphabet's (GOOGL, GOOG) Google ( GOOG ) and Meta (META), the note said.

Any potential buyer of TikTok would be taking on risk, Morgan Stanley said, adding that Amazon ( AMZN ) due to "its leading ad business and data set" likely has "one of the highest probabilities to maintain/grow TikTok." The analysts also said that there are only a limited number of companies or individuals who could finance a potential acquisition of TikTok.

Morgan Stanley said that neither Amazon ( AMZN ) or TikTok's management teams have made any comments on a potential combination and it has no knowledge of any specific deal being discussed.

The investment firm has an overweight rating on Amazon ( AMZN ) and $280 price target.

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