According to a spokesman for the YouTuber, Jimmy Donaldson, better known online as MrBeast, is not yet participating in the TikTok bidding competition.
In a post on X on January 13, Donaldson sparked curiosity by stating that he would “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.” “Unironically, since I tweeted this, so many billionaires have reached out to me. Let’s see if we can pull this off,” Donaldson continued the next day.
That became even more apparent last week when Donaldson was included in reports of an investor group led by Jesse Tinsley, the founder and CEO of Recruiter.com Ventures, seeking to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business in an all-cash bid.
MrBeast was mentioned as a part of this endeavor in a Tuesday announcement from Paul Hastings LLP, a law firm that claims to be assisting the group, and a Monday post on X from Tinsley.However, Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for MrBeast, stated that Donaldson hasn’t formally entered any bids, in contrast to stories from Tuesday night.
Hiltzik informed The Associated Press on Wednesday that “a number of buyers are having continuous conversations with Jimmy.” “With none of them does he have any exclusive agreements.”
In addition to whether Donaldson will participate, it is yet unclear how successful this group’s offer will be and how much it will cost. A spokeswoman for Tinsley declined to comment when approached for further specifics on Tuesday. A request for comment on Wednesday on Tinsley’s selection of Donaldson as a participant was likewise not immediately answered by the individual.
The future of TikTok in the US is still up in the air.
Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a federal statute that required TikTok to find an authorized buyer for its U.S. business by January 19 or risk being banned nationally. Hours before the deadline, on Saturday, the platform blocked access for U.S. users. However, it returned to the internet on Sunday with a statement praising then-President Donald Trump, who had promised to delay the ban.
Trump has stated he has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok, which he credits for helping him gain more young votes during last year’s presidential race. He tried to outlaw the platform during his first administration, claiming that its ties to China constituted a national security threat.
Shortly after taking office on Monday, Trump asked the Justice Department to delay implementation of the TikTok ban until early April. In addition, he stated that “every rich person” has contacted him regarding purchasing the social media site and that he hopes to have the US government negotiate a deal for 50% ownership of TikTok.
Trump said on Tuesday that he would be amenable to Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and tech tycoon Elon Musk purchasing TikTok. Elon Musk gave over $200 million to a super political action committee that organized Trump’s support last fall.
But neither Ellison nor Musk have made it clear that they intend to acquire TikTok.Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt are among the other investors who have openly indicated their desire to buy the well-liked program.
According to a person familiar with the situation, Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence firm, has also offered TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, based in China, a proposal to establish a new company that would combine Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. operations.
“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian investor who also joined the initiative, claims that a consortium led by McCourt has offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for the site. O’Leary told CNBC on Tuesday that he still had interest in the platform but thought it would be blocked by the regulation, which mandated ByteDance divest by Sunday.
He was cited by CNBC as saying, “What we need to do is go back and ask Congress to open the order and provide for these new options, because they’re not provided for right now.”
ByteDance stated it has no plans to sell the platform and challenged the bipartisan TikTok bill in court for months after former President Joe Biden signed it into law in April. China also chastised Washington for the divestment drive, but it seems to be changing its mind now.
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