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A group of American investors vying to buy TikTok with support from top YouTuber MrBeast has secured more than US$20 billion for their offer, according to Mr Jesse Tinsley, the tech entrepreneur organising the bid.
The group has also recruited two additional tech chief executives as investors, including Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki and Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley, Mr Tinsley said in an interview with Bloomberg.
An Anchorage Digital spokesperson confirmed Mr McCauley’s participation, while Roblox had no immediate comment.
Mr Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, told Bloomberg on January 29 that his group’s bid is “significantly higher” than a roughly US$20 billion offer from a rival buyer, a possible reference to the Project Liberty bid organised by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Shark Tank personality Kevin O’Leary. They have estimated it would take US$25 billion to buy the app.
It remains unclear if Mr Tinsley and his investor group will be serious contenders for what are shaping up to be competitive and fast-evolving negotiations. Notably, Mr Tinsley said his group has not been in direct contact with TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, which has maintained that TikTok’s US business is not for sale.
“We have not heard back directly,” Mr Tinsley told Bloomberg. “It has been radio silence on their side.”
Since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to delay by 75 days the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok unless ByteDance divests, he has floated various buyers and proposals aimed at keeping TikTok running in the US. — Bloomberg.
Online Reporter