New York
CNN
—
After months of speculation and multiple bids from would-be American buyers, TikTok may finally be getting a new owner.
President Donald Trump teased over the weekend that there is a buyer for TikTok, whom he will announce in two weeks, which could secure the app’s long-term future in the United States.
“We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way. I think I’ll need probably China approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” President Donald Trump said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.” He added: “It’s a group of very wealthy people.”
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is on the clock to spin off the popular short-form video app’s US operations by September 17 or face a ban in the United States. Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law signed by then-President Joe Biden last year — which was originally set to go into effect in January — in hopes of making a deal for an American owner to acquire the app.
The app is used by about 170 million Americans to find news, entertainment, community and, in some cases, to make a living.
It remains unclear whether the Chinese government would bless the sale of TikTok by its China-based owner.
In April, a deal that would have transferred majority control of TikTok’s US operations to American ownership was nearly finalized. But it fell apart after Trump announced additional tariffs on China, forcing the White House to announce another 75-day delay to keep the app operational in the United States. Trump extended the deadline again by 90 days earlier this month.
“Discussions with China regarding the sale of TikTok have been ongoing at the highest level, and they will continue,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing Monday. “As you know, we have another 90-day extension, and it’s just to continue to work out this deal and make sure that TikTok stays on for the American people — that’s the president’s main goal in this, while protecting their privacy and their security.”
ByteDance and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Here’s what we know about who could buy TikTok.
Perhaps the most likely buyer for TikTok is a group of investors primed to acquire it in April before tariffs caused negotiations to stall.
Under that deal, a number of venture capital firms, private equity funds and tech giants were set to invest in a company that would control TikTok’s US operations, with ByteDance retaining a 20% stake in the spinoff company, a source familiar with the deal told CNN at the time.
For the deal to comply with the law, ByteDance can own no more than 20% of the platform. The law also states that the app’s US operations cannot coordinate with ByteDance on the app’s algorithm or data-sharing practices.
At the time of Trump’s April extension, the White House did not name the parties with whom it had been discussing a TikTok takeover deal. But the source familiar with the discussions told CNN that new and existing US TikTok investors, ByteDance and the Trump administration had all agreed to the deal.
Earlier this year, multiple news outlets, including Politico, NPR and Bloomberg reported that Oracle — TikTok’s current US technology partner — was a top contender to take over the app’s US operations, potentially in partnership with the app’s American investors, such as private equity firm General Atlantic and investment firm Susquehanna International Group.
Oracle and Susquehanna did not immediately respond Monday to CNN’s requests for comment. A representative for General Atlantic declined to comment.
There are several other prominent bidders who have also raised their hands to acquire the platform’s US operations.
They include a group led by billionaire former Los Angeles Dodgers owner and Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, with backing from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. That group, which calls itself the “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” has said it would aim to update the app’s technology to give users and creators more control over their data and experience on the platform.
“Every day that passes without a qualified divestiture of TikTok puts Americans at greater risk of manipulation and surveillance,” a spokesperson for Project Liberty said Monday in a statement to CNN. “The People’s Bid remains the only solution under consideration that fully satisfies the law and moves TikTok to a made-in-America tech stack. We look forward to working with members of the Administration, policymakers, and our many outstanding partners in The People’s Bid to achieve this goal.”
Another potential buyer group includes social media influencer Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, and Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley. A representative for the group declined to comment on the status of the group’s bid on Monday.
The artificial intelligence firm Perplexity said in March that it was seeking to acquire TikTok. In a statement at the time, the company said it was “singularly positioned to rebuild the TikTok algorithm without creating a monopoly, combining world-class technical capabilities with Little Tech independence.” Perplexity did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
