Potential buyers for TikTok are lining up as President Trump and the Chinese government grow more interested in striking a deal to sell the popular video-sharing platform in the face of a U.S. ban.
YouTube star MrBeast is the latest to join the ranks of potential buyers following a joint bid by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and “Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O'Leary. be. The Chinese government is also reportedly considering Elon Musk as a potential buyer, while President Trump added Oracle founder Larry Ellison's name to the list on Tuesday night.
“The deadline is 75 days,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told The Hill. “The White House knows they have 75 days to get this deal done. , TikTok is a chip on the poker table in broader U.S. negotiations.”
A law technically banning TikTok went into effect on Sunday after China-based parent company ByteDance failed to withdraw from the app. However, the Biden administration refused to enforce the ban in the final stages, and President Trump signed an executive order on Monday suspending enforcement of the ban for 75 days.
With a new clock ticking and legislation now upheld by the Supreme Court, there appears to be a greater openness to negotiations from all sides.
Ives added: “I think right now it's about the circumstances on both sides to get an agreement done.”
The idea of selling TikTok was effectively scrapped under the Biden administration. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have repeatedly insisted that any kind of sale is not a viable option.
The Chinese government has also previously poured cold water on the idea, saying it is “firmly opposed” to any forced sale of the platform.
But China appears to have had a change of heart, too, after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson suggested earlier this week that private companies could decide on their own whether to sell the entities.
In response to a question about whether China was willing to reach an agreement with President Trump and what the outcome would be, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Chinese companies will have independent control over actions such as business operations and acquisitions.'' I think we should make a decision.” According to market principles. ”
Mao added: “When Chinese companies are involved, Chinese laws and regulations should be observed.”
Observers suggested the remarks could highlight the Chinese government's larger feelings toward ByteDance.
“I don't think TikTok's presence in the U.S. is a particular priority for the Chinese government,” said Kurt Tong, partner at Asia Group and former U.S. ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
“If TikTok were to be completely shut down in the US, it wouldn't be a big blow to China, but it would put the relationship in a bad shape because it would reinforce the idea that commerce between the US and China cannot be done in the digital space. ''' Tong added.
President Trump also seems particularly keen on striking a deal, repeatedly insisting he can negotiate a resolution to keep the app available. In recent days, he has proposed a joint venture in which the United States would hold a 50% stake.
As President Trump and China appear poised to reach a deal, new bidders are entering the fray.
A group of investors led by enterprise.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley announced a proposed acquisition of TikTok on Sunday. Among these investors is popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, better known as Mr. Beast.
“Our proposal represents a win-win solution that preserves this important platform while addressing legitimate national security concerns,” Tinsley said in a statement. “We are ready to move quickly and have assembled a team with deep experience in technology, content moderation, and platform governance.”
Investors who backed Donaldson and Tinsley's bid retained a team of lawyers from prominent law firm Paul Hastings, including Brad Bondi, the brother of President Trump's attorney general nominee Pam Bondi. I am doing it.
President Trump also floated Ellison as a potential buyer on Tuesday, but the Oracle founder backed him in announcing new projects in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“I want Larry to buy it, too. I have the right to make a deal,” Trump said to Ellison.
“What I'm going to tell someone is if you buy it and give half of it to the United States of America, we'll give you a permit,” Trump said. “And they'll have a great partner, the United States. They'll actually get more value because they have the ultimate partner, and the United States will help with permits and everything else. It makes it very valuable to them.”
After Trump explained the details, Ellison quipped, “Mr. President, that sounds like a good deal to me.”
Oracle was a central figure in a 2020 deal to fend off previous efforts to ban TikTok. As part of the deal approved by Trump during his first term, Oracle became the app's cloud provider and acquired a 12.5% stake in the company.
President Trump suggested on Tuesday that he would be open to buying the platform if Musk wanted to. Earlier this month, reports suggested Chinese authorities were considering selling TikTok's U.S. operations to Musk, the world's richest man and a strong ally of Trump.
In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Musk also owns social platform X, which he acquired in 2022 for about $44 billion. The tech billionaire has particularly become a personal ally of President Trump in recent months. his campaign.
TikTok denied the report last week, before Trump took office, calling it “pure fiction.”
Musk has not said whether he is interested in a deal, but reiterated over the weekend that he opposes banning TikTok on the grounds that it is “against free speech.”
“However, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in the United States but X is not allowed to operate in China is disproportionate,” he added. “Something needs to change.”
McCourt and O'Leary were the first to submit a formal offer to ByteDance to acquire TikTok earlier this month. McCourt insisted the bid, led by his nonprofit Project Liberty, was “the only legally compliant solution.”
But O'Leary on Tuesday cast doubt on Trump's proposed 50% joint venture.
“I would love to work with President Trump on that 50/50 deal, and so would all of the other potential buyers.” he told CNBCadded, “But the problem with some of these ideas is that they conflict with Supreme Court rulings.''
O'Leary is reportedly in Washington to meet with lawmakers about a possible deal, according to CNBC. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said Tuesday he had a “great meeting” with “Shark Tank” investors at the White House.
President Trump did not elaborate on whether he intended to include the U.S. government and private buyers as partners in the deal, and the White House did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Rob Larca, professor of management practice at Tulane University, said deals on the negotiation table are not actually split 50-50, but are typically split at or near 51-49 percent for logistical purposes. He pointed out that it would happen.
Legal experts have also questioned whether Mr. Trump's proposal would not meet the requirements for a “qualified” sale under the TikTok Divestiture and Ban Act.
Analysts at Wedbush Securities said in a research note Wednesday that they expect ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations without the algorithm for $40 billion to $50 billion. They pointed to Musk and Ellison as early frontrunners.
“Elon Musk remains at the forefront as a potential bidder for TikTok, and technology partners and outside investors are also likely to be included to close the deal,” they wrote. “Mr. Musk will be hand-picked by the Chinese government, and given his ironclad relationship with Mr. Trump, this would be a very logical choice.”
