Will TikTok Survive the Deal-Making Drama? Here's Who's Rushing to Buy!

President Donald Trump has once again delayed a potential ban on TikTok, granting a 75-day extension for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to broker a sale. This extension comes following a bipartisan law from Congress aimed at compelling ByteDance to divest TikTok due to national security concerns. The law raised alarms about the user data the app collects and the potential for Chinese government access, a claim Beijing strongly contests.

During a recent flight on Air Force One, Trump revealed that multiple investors are interested in purchasing TikTok and mentioned a possible trade deal with China where TikTok’s sale could be tied to reduced US tariffs on Chinese goods.

Notable potential buyers include:

  • Amazon, which has reportedly submitted a last-minute proposal.

  • Larry Ellison from Oracle and Elon Musk have been mentioned by Trump, though Musk has no interest in the acquisition.

  • Billionaire Frank McCourt, alongside celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, is also pursuing a bid. The co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, has joined McCourt’s team.

  • Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, and Tim Stokely, founder of OnlyFans, are part of separate investment groups eyeing TikTok.

  • Major tech players like Microsoft, Blackstone, Andreessen Horowitz, and search engine Perplexity AI are also in the mix.

There’s speculation that the White House might allow ByteDance to maintain control of TikTok’s algorithms while leasing them to a new entity based in the US.

The stakes are high: without an agreement by April 5, TikTok might face a US ban, similar to its previous situation earlier in the year. Trump’s administration has indicated potential leniency towards Apple and Google, which could face penalties for allowing TikTok to be downloaded.

Currently, TikTok claims 170 million users in the US, averaging 51 minutes of daily usage. Experts suggest that rival platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts could capitalize on a TikTok fallout, as marketing dollars could shift from TikTok to companies like Meta and Google. The situation remains fluid as the deadline approaches, with varying impacts expected for TikTok’s competitors, including Twitch and emerging Chinese platforms like Xiaohongshu.

Samuel wycliffe