TikTok Bidder Lineup Expands With Inclusion of Amazon and OnlyFans Creator, Amidst Possible Ban
The race to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations is heating up, with several high-profile individuals and companies vying for a piece of the popular social media platform.
In a significant development, a consortium led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, with involvement from KKR, Andreessen Horowitz, and Oracle, has emerged as the leading bidder for TikTok's U.S. operations [1]. However, Blackstone recently withdrew from this consortium, adding uncertainty to the deal.
Oracle is a strong contender in the race, having agreed to a partnership with ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, in 2020 [2]. Microsoft, on the other hand, made a deal to buy TikTok back in 2020, but the deal quickly collapsed.
Another contender is Perplexity, which has offered to merge with TikTok, allowing TikTok's investors to retain their equity stakes [3]. Amazon has also proposed a bid, with a focus on the lucrative TikTok Shop [4].
Tim Stokely, the founder of OnlyFans, and a consortium led by MrBeast and Employer.com Founder Jesse Tinsley, have also put forward bids. Stokely's bid involves Zoop, a publishing platform for creators to connect with audiences, and Hbar Foundation, which manages the treasury for the Hedera cryptocurrency network [5]. MrBeast and Tinsley's bid focuses on moving the platform to American servers [6].
However, the White House does not consider Amazon's bid to be serious [7]. Elon Musk has also expressed no interest in purchasing TikTok [8].
The deadline for TikTok to sell or face a ban is approaching on April 5. In a surprising turn of events, Chinese officials have shown no interest in divesting from TikTok and are willing to accept the ban instead [9].
In a twist, President Trump has floated the idea of offering tariff relief to China in exchange for finalizing a TikTok sale, but this idea has little support within his own party [10].
As the deadline looms, the race to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations continues to be a hot topic of discussion, with many interested parties vying for a piece of the social media giant. The final outcome remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: TikTok's U.S. operations are up for grabs.
[1] CNN [2] The Verge [3] Reuters [4] Bloomberg [5] TechCrunch [6] CNBC [7] Axios [8] Forbes [9] The Wall Street Journal [10] Politico
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