On January 18, TikTok stopped operating in the United States after the decision of the government of donald trump to ban the application if it was not sold by its owner, the Chinese company ByteDance. However, a day later, the platform began operating again, as the president announced that he would sign an executive order granting a 75 day period for the company to find a buyer.
Since then, several businessmen have shown interest in acquiring the application, with offers that could reach 50 billion dollarsaccording to estimates of CFRA Research. Among the possible buyers are Elon Musk, MrBeast, Kevin O’Leary, Larry Ellison and the company Perplexity AI.
The United States government argued that TikTok poses a national security riskdue to the possibility of the Chinese government accessing the data of its American users. In response, Trump signed an executive order that requires the sale of the application within 75 days or, otherwise, it will be permanently banned in the country.
Despite ByteDance initially resisted selling its operation in the country, Bill FordCEO of General Atlantic—one of the company’s main investors—stated on January 22 to Axios that the sale is inevitable. “It is in everyone’s interest,” he said.
The businessman Elon Muskowner of Tesla and SpaceXhas been mentioned as a possible buyer of TikTok, although it has never publicly confirmed its interest in acquiring the platform.
On January 22, when asked if he would approve of a purchase of the platform by Musk, Trump responded: “I would be OK if he wanted to buy it.”
In parallel, Bloomberg reported that the chinese government I would be considering Musk as a viable buyer, sparking speculation. However, TikTok denied this version and described it as “pure fiction.”
In your account xMusk has criticized the ban of the app, calling it a act of censorship and government controlbut has given no signs that he is interested in buying the company.
The content creator Jimmy Donaldsonknown as MrBeasthas openly expressed his interest in buying TikTok. With more than 340 million subscribers on YouTube and 113 million followers on TikTokDonaldson has become a key figure in the negotiation.
On January 13, he published in x: “Okay, I’ll buy TikTok so they don’t ban it.” Days later, he shared a video stating: “I just left a meeting with several billionaires. “We are serious.”
On January 20, Donaldson announced from a private jet that he was about to make an official offer to buy the platform. Shortly after, the Associated Press confirmed that the content creator joined a consortium led by Jesse Tinsleyfounder and CEO of Employer.comwhich submitted a formal cash offer for TikTok.
“Our offer is a solution that preserves this platform and addresses national security concerns,” Tinsley said in a statement. However, the amount of the offer was not disclosed.
The Canadian businessman Kevin O’Learyknown for his participation in the program Shark Tankhas also expressed interest in buying TikTok. He has joined “The People’s Bid for TikTok”, an effort led by Frank McCourtfounder of Project Liberty.
On January 17, in an interview with Fox News, O’Leary stated that his group has an offer of $20 billion in cash to acquire the platform.
On social media, O’Leary was defiant in the face of competition from MrBeastpublishing an image with the phrase: “Is MrBeast really the competition?” On his Instagram account, he added: “Only one group has the technology to do it without problems. Guess who.”
Trump has stated that he would like the US government to have a 50% stake in any TikTok purchase deal. O’Leary was interested in the idea, but warned on CNBC that there could be legal problems: “I would love to work with Trump on that 50/50, but the problem is that some of these ideas may be inconsistent with what the Supreme Court.”
The businessman Larry Ellisonco-founder and CTO of Oraclehas been mentioned directly by Trump as a possible buyer.
At a conference at the White House, Trump turned to Ellison and proposed: “Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media. “I’m thinking about telling someone, ‘Buy it and give half to America.'”
Ellison responded: “I think it’s a good deal, Mr. President.”. Oracle already tried to buy TikTok in 2020when Trump promoted its ban during his first term.
In addition to tech moguls and investors, an artificial intelligence company has emerged as an unexpected candidate. Perplexity AIa platform that competes with OpenAI and Google, submitted a bid on January 18 for merge with TikTok.
The deal would reportedly allow ByteDance and its existing investors to retain their stake in the company.
Beyond the names in the race, the possible sale of TikTok faces several challenges:
- The price: It is estimated that the value of TikTok in the US could reach 50 billion dollars. Not all interested parties have the ability to make such a high offer.
- Regulation and national security: Any agreement must have the approval of US regulatorswho have expressed concern about China’s access to TikTok data.
- Technical feasibility: Managing the platform without ByteDance could be complicated, as TikTok’s infrastructure remains dependent on its parent company in China.
The clock is ticking, and ByteDance has until mid-March to close a deal before the app faces an outright ban in the U.S. Who will get it?
