Another big name has been added to the list of possible buyers for TikTok’s US operations.
This latest news of a fresh contender — this time Microsoft — comes from none other than the new President of the US, but the details are scant.
Millionaire influencer MrBeast has already confirmed he and his team are in the running with a cash bid; and they are going up against Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary. There are also rumors swirling that Elon Musk might be interested, but this is unconfirmed.
What Has Trump Said?
It was a Bloomberg reporter who broke the story, writing that Donald Trump had told reporters on Air Force One that Microsoft is in discussions to purchase the app. When asked directly, Trump said: “I would say yes,” adding there is “…a lot of interest in TikTok. There’s great interest in TikTok.”
Trump wouldn’t be pushed on details and Microsoft is not commenting. However, the President is taking a strong interest in the fate of the Chinese-owned social media platform. He even negotiated on live TV with Oracle co-founder, Larry Ellison, over a potential sale, saying that TikTok’s US operations are worthless but “…with a permit, it’s worth like a trillion dollars.”
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At a gathering of Republican lawmakers in Florida, Trump added: “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to have a lot of people bidding on it, and if we can save all that voice and all the jobs, and China won’t be involved, we don’t want China involved, but we’ll see what happens.”
Who Is in the Running?
It is the team put together by Frank McCourt that was first to throw its hat into the ring. McCourt is founder of Project Liberty – an organization fighting to democratize the web. He is also the former owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In December, McCourt published a statement saying that Project Liberty doesn’t want to see TikTok shut down but said that it can’t carry on operating as it has been. He explained: “The People’s Bid for TikTok aims to purchase the platform and migrate users to a new internet architecture that gives users control over their digital lives and more access to the economic value they generate.” O’Leary later announced he was joining this bid.
Their confirmed rivals are a group of “institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals,” led by tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley and Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast.
Until confirmed, both Microsoft and Musk’s involvement remain speculation.
History Repeating
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has shown interest in TikTok. Way back in 2020, the Chinese social media platform was firmly in the sights of Donald Trump, who declared his plan to ban it.
The computing giant released a statement in August of that year, saying it was interested in buying it. Satya Nadella, the Microsoft CEO, stated: “Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States government, including with the president.”
The statement also added that it would make sure that “all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States” if the deal went through.
The acquisition didn’t happen, largely because of national security concerns. The ban, though, pushed ahead under President Biden.
ByteDance now has a 75-day reprieve granted by President Trump, who has now decided he doesn’t hate the platform quite so much anymore, and new deals are being tabled. In fact, Trump is actively trying to encourage a bidding war.
The national security concerns haven’t gone away and these will have to be addressed; however, much money is on the table.
