U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that a group of wealthy investors is prepared to acquire TikTok’s American operations, just days after he extended the sale deadline for Chinese owner ByteDance. In a Fox News interview, Trump stated that the buyer group is “very wealthy” and that an official announcement will be made within two weeks. He also said Chinese President Xi Jinping would “probably” approve the deal.
TikTok’s U.S. division, valued at around $50 billion, has attracted interest from several high-profile names. Potential buyers include Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), private equity giant Blackstone (NYSE:BX), and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. A separate consortium featuring YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) has also shown interest. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk was briefly rumored to be involved, but later denied any plans to purchase the app.
The Trump administration had previously ordered TikTok to shut down in the U.S. due to national security concerns, citing fears the platform was harvesting data on American users for the Chinese government. While the app was initially set to be banned in January, Trump has since granted three deadline extensions, with the latest pushing the sale deadline to mid-September.
An earlier attempt to sell TikTok fell through earlier this year after escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China derailed negotiations. However, relations between the two nations have recently improved, following a framework trade agreement reached in May, potentially paving the way for a smoother transaction.
The outcome of the TikTok sale could reshape the U.S. tech and social media landscape, especially as regulatory scrutiny on Chinese tech firms continues to intensify.