Negotiations surrounding the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations have accelerated as President Donald Trump confirmed ongoing discussions with four potential buyers.
The video-sharing platform faces an April 5 deadline to finalize a deal or risk being banned from the United States under a bipartisan law enacted during the Biden administration.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump disclosed that he was in talks with four distinct groups, describing them as “all good” contenders but refraining from revealing specific names. “We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it,” Trump commented.
TikTok’s U.S. business, reportedly valued at up to $50 billion last year, is a big asset for ByteDance, which operates a sister app, Douyin, in China.
The platform’s U.S. user base remains one of ByteDance’s most valuable markets globally.
Amid escalating scrutiny over national security concerns, ByteDance Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew has engaged in efforts to assuage U.S. lawmakers.
In December, Chew met with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago and attended the president’s inauguration earlier this year.
However, ByteDance has not signaled any willingness to sell its U.S. operations, complicating the path forward.
Any agreement would require approval from the Chinese government, which has thus far been non-committal. Beijing has expressed a strong preference for TikTok to remain within ByteDance’s control.
While officials are reportedly exploring alternatives — including a proposal involving Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, who has dismissed interest in acquiring the service — the prevailing sentiment in Beijing appears resistant to a sale.
Among the known bidders are a consortium led by billionaire Frank McCourt and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, as well as a separate group involving tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley and YouTube personality MrBeast. San Francisco-based Perplexity AI has also put forward a merger proposal.
Also, President Trump has floated the possibility of Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison playing a role in the acquisition.
TikTok has previously collaborated with Oracle to host U.S. user data, potentially positioning the software giant as a strong contender.
The sale’s urgency has been amplified by the escalating economic and political standoff between Washington and Beijing.
In response to U.S. actions, China has suggested potential countermeasures, raising the stakes for ByteDance.
President Trump has also proposed that the U.S. government should receive a 50% stake in TikTok as a condition for approving any deal, a notion that has sparked both legal and logistical debates.
Legal experts caution that any attempt to force a sale without Beijing’s consent could provoke a broader trade conflict. ByteDance’s valuation, now exceeding $400 billion according to key investors like SoftBank Group Corp., underscores the complexity of structuring a deal that satisfies both U.S. regulatory demands and Chinese geopolitical interests.
Furthermore, ByteDance’s ongoing share buyback at a $312 billion valuation reflects its confidence in a diversified growth strategy, including a deeper push into e-commerce.
This optimism comes despite the uncertainty clouding TikTok’s U.S. business, which has been a linchpin of ByteDance’s global revenue strategy.
