Trump: TikTok Has Interest From 4 Potential Buyers
The White House is reportedly in talks with four different potential buyers for TikTok.
Speaking to reporters Sunday (March 9) on Air Force One, President Donald Trump said his administration has held discussions with these groups about purchasing the popular video platform, and all options seem promising.
“We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it … all four are good,” said Trump, whose comments were reported by Reuters. A deal for the sale of the platform could come soon, the president added.
As the Reuters report notes, TikTok’s future has been uncertain since last year, when the U.S. passed a law — driven by national security concerns related to the company’s connections to China — requiring owner ByteDance to sell the company or see TikTok removed from the Apple and Google app stores.
The law gave ByteDance until Jan. 19 of this year to comply. However, Trump promised before taking office that he would find a solution, having reversed his stance on banning TikTok.
This meant that the ban came and went with little fanfare. TikTok went dark for a few hours on Jan. 19 in the U.S., although the company began restoring service after Trump announced he would undo the ban.
Trump took office the next day, signing an executive order that gave ByteDance an additional 75 days to find a new owner for TikTok.
In a separate order, Trump called for the establishment of the first U.S. sovereign wealth fund, and said that fund could invest in TikTok.
“As an example, TikTok, we’re going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, perhaps not; if we make the right deal, we’ll do it, otherwise we won’t,” the president said in a video posted on social platform X by the official White House’s “rapid response” account, Rapid Response 47. “… And we might put that in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make.”
Trump has spoken of working out a deal in which the U.S. would retain half ownership of TikTok. Possible investors who have expressed interest include AI company Perplexity AI — which had hoped to merge with TikTok — former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and social media star “MrBeast.”
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