TikTok is back online after several hours of voluntarily shutdown on Jan. 18, just before the U.S. ban was set to take effect. When services were restored, the company stated it would be working with the POTUS to keep the app available in the U.S.
A few people have expressed interest in purchasing the social media app, including Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, who posted on X on Jan. 15, writing, “Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned.” A day after posting on X, MrBeast updated his 31.9 million followers on X, writing that “many billionaires” have approached him about his interest.
Other major contenders to purchase TikTok include Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary teaming up with billionaire Frank McCourt on the “People’s Bid for TikTok”, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, former U.S. Treasury Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, and Perplexity AI, which is proposing a merger with TikTok. In addition, Elon Musk is rumored to be interested but has yet to publicly confirm it.
Valuing TikTok is complex, with estimates in a Forbes article ranging from $20 billion to $50 billion, excluding the app’s machine-learning algorithm. When the algorithm is factored in, valuations skyrocket to between $132 billion and $300 billion. MrBeast – with a net worth of a measly $1 billion – can’t purchase TikTok alone and will certainly need help from other billionaires for his bid.
Is TikTok willing to sell?
It seems MrBeast is keen on acquiring the platform, as he uploaded a video on TikTok on Jan. 16 to provide an update. In the video, he explains that he just had a meeting “with a bunch of billionaires” and they’ve come up with an offer that he didn’t disclose. “We wanna buy the platform. America deserves TikTok.”
Days later, he uploaded another TikTok video sharing to his 113.9 million followers on the platform that he was on a private jet on the way to make his official bid. Again, he didn’t disclose how much his offer was, but said, “I might become your guys’ CEO, I’m super excited.”
After taking office on Jan. 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to find a resolution, meaning the new shutdown deadline is April 4, 2025. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was against selling to a U.S. entity. After the extension, General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, who sits on ByteDance’s board of directors, offered some insights. General Atlantic is a key investor in ByteDance.
On Jan. 22, Ford said that ByteDance hadn’t started negotiations with the parties interested in purchasing TikTok, but said that a deal would push forward. “Yes. It’s in everybody’s interest,” he said, adding that talks will happen between all parties involved including the Chinese and U.S. governments, ByteDance, and the board to find the best solution.
However, that doesn’t mean divestiture or selling is the only option. As Ford mentioned in a CNBC interview, they must come up with a solution that complies with U.S. law without necessarily resorting to divestiture, which sounds like they will most likely exhaust other avenues and have conversations with the new administration first before resorting to selling.
