Who could buy TikTok? Only a few parties are serious about offering

NEW YORK (AP) — The wildly popular TikTok could be banned Jan. 19 under a federal law that forces the video-sharing platform to divest itself of its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or shut down its U.S. operations.

Several parties have expressed interest in buying the platform, but ByteDance has said several times that they do not plan to sell. Experts have also noted that the Chinese government is unlikely to approve a sale that includes TikTok’s coveted algorithm.

But until the deadline expires, the possibility of a purchase is still possible. Here’s what you need to know:

How much is TikTok worth?

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimates that TikTok is worth “well north of $100 billion” with the algorithm — and potentially up to $200 billion in a “best case scenario.”

“Without the algorithm, it’s $40 billion to $50 billion,” Ives said, adding that he doesn’t believe ByteDance and Beijing would sell TikTok with the algorithm.

Lawyers for TikTok and ByteDance have argued that divesting the platform is commercially and technologically impossible. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm — the platform’s secret sauce, which Chinese authorities are likely to block under any divestment plan — would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island cut off from other global content.

US officials warned that the proprietary algorithm is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who could use it to shape content on the platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

Who is serious about buying TikTok?

Billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt and his Internet advocacy group recently announced that they had submitted a proposal to buy the social media from ByteDance. Famed Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary has also joined the effort.

The group said in December that it has secured commitments from investors — which it did not disclose — totaling more than $20 billion in capital.

If a sale occurs, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner said he plans to restructure TikTok and give more agency to people “over their digital identities and data” by migrating the platform to an open-source protocol that allows more transparency.

Former Minister of Finance Steven Mnuchin has also taken steps to buy TikTok.

Shortly after Congress passed the ban, Mnuchin told CNBC that he had begun putting together an investor group that would buy the popular social media company. He gave no details on who might be in the group or on TikTok’s possible valuation.

When Mnuchin was Treasury Secretary, he helped the Trump administration brokers a deal in 2020, it would have prompted US companies Oracle and Walmart to take a large stake in TikTok for national security reasons.

Several other names have been floated as possible buyers – Tesla CEO Elon MuskJimmy Donaldson ( MrBeast)who recently posted on social media about possibly completing such a deal, and former Blizzard-Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. However, it is not clear whether these buyers are serious and are actively collecting a bid for the company.

Can Trump intervene?

Before Friday’s ruling, President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, had asked the court to pause the law so he can work out a “political solution” to the issue during his second term.

Trump’s transition team has not offered details on how Trump plans to carry out his campaign promise to “save TikTok.” Trump’s national security adviser signaled this week that the incoming administration may take steps to “keep TikTok from going dark,” though it remains unclear what that will look like — and whether any of those steps could hold up legal scrutiny .

After Trump took office, it would fall to his Justice Department to enforce the law and punish any violators. On Wednesday, Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, dodged a question during a Senate hearing about whether she would uphold a TikTok ban.