Billionaire entrepreneur Frank McCourt and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O’Leary have made a formal offer to purchase TikTok from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The group, named The People’s Bid for TikTok, aims to acquire the U.S. assets of the popular social media platform, though the value of the offer has not been disclosed.
This move comes just one day before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. starting January 19, 2025, unless ByteDance sells the app. However, ByteDance has consistently stated that TikTok is not for sale, even following President Biden's signing of a law that could force the app's removal.
The McCourt-backed group, supported by Guggenheim Securities and other investors, aims to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations without its famous algorithm and rebuild it using American technology. This plan could be seen as a workaround for a Chinese export control law that would require a license for such a sale.
McCourt expressed confidence that this approach would minimize disruption for TikTok users and keep the platform running, stating, "By keeping the platform alive without relying on the current TikTok algorithm, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform."
Despite the hurdles, including ByteDance’s refusal to sell and questions about the viability of the app without its algorithm, O’Leary has remained optimistic, asserting that the bid can succeed even without the algorithm. He believes the team can “make TikTok wonderful again.”
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