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President Donald Trump said on March 9 that he was in talks with four different potential buyers to set up a joint venture for TikTok’s U.S. operations, and said a deal could close soon.
Trump told reporters while traveling on Air Force One on Sunday. We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it, He didn’t specify the contenders or reveal which side he was leaning toward, but said all four were good.
As of now, public bidders include a team led by billionaire Frank McCourt and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian another bidding team consisting of tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley and YouTube star MrBeast as well as a merger offer from San Francisco-based Perplexity AI. Trump also mentioned the name of Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, with whom TikTok has partnered to host the data of its U.S. users.
TikTok faces an April 5 deadline to reach an agreement on its U.S. operations. Otherwise it will be banned from operating in the country under a law passed during the Biden administration. The value of TikTok’s U.S. business was estimated at $50 billion last year.
Last week, Trump said he was willing to extend the deadline again if necessary, but he believes a deal is possible next month. He has pushed back the initial Jan. 19 deadline to avoid a prolonged shutdown of TikTok and has repeatedly said he is willing to reach a deal. In trying to broker the deal, he has said the U.S. should get a 50 percent stake in the company as a condition.
ByteDance has not yet signaled an interest in selling its U.S. business, although Chief Executive Officer Zhou Shouzhi met with Trump in Mar a Lago last December and attended the inauguration earlier this year. The company has sought to assuage the national security concerns of U.S. lawmakers so that it can continue to operate in the country.
ByteHop, a non-publicly traded company, is now valued at more than $400 billion by major investors such as SoftBank Group. The company is buying back employee shares at a valuation of $312 billion, showing confidence in its expansion strategy.
The strategy includes capitalizing on the popularity of its video platform to increase its presence in e-commerce. That valuation is a big jump from just over a year ago, despite the uncertainty surrounding its U.S. business.
References
1 https www bloomberg com news articles 2025 03 10 trump says four different groups in play for tiktok deal
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