TikTok Receives Formal Buyout Offer Ahead of Quick-Approaching Divestment Deadline — Private Equities, Family Offices, and More On Board

Ahead of a quick-approaching divestment deadline for TikTok in the U.S., an investor group has submitted a formal buyout offer.

That proposal has arrived courtesy of Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt’s The People’s Bid for TikTok, which disclosed the offer in a release.

Per Kevin O’Leary-supported People’s Bid, its varied backers include “major” private equities, various family offices, and a number of “high net worth individuals,” with “debt financing from one of the largest banks in the United States” to boot.

And while the entity opted against disclosing the precise size and terms of its offer, reports previously indicated that People’s Bid had secured a cumulative $20 billion in capital commitments.

“We’ve put forward a proposal to ByteDance to realize Project Liberty’s vision for a reimagined TikTok – one built on an American-made tech stack that puts people first,” weighed in Frank McCourt.

“By keeping the platform alive without relying on the current TikTok algorithm and avoiding a ban, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform. We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done,” the former Dodgers owner concluded.

Of course, time will tell whether the deal does, in fact, close. ByteDance has long been adamant that a sale isn’t in the cards – with TikTok’s much-touted algorithm a sizable hurdle.

However, on top of McCourt’s comments regarding “the current TikTok algorithm,” O’Leary, who’s still making the media rounds in support of the bid, last week emphasized that the sought transaction wouldn’t encompass the algorithm.

It remains to be seen whether that point and the imminent TikTok forced-sale cutoff will prompt ByteDance to warm up to the possibility of selling.

Keeping the focus on what we do know, though, the Supreme Court doesn’t appear too sympathetic to TikTok’s arguments against the underlying sell-or-shutdown law.

Similarly, it’s unclear whether President Biden will grant a once-off 90-day extension (which is an option under the relevant law) to TikTok’s January 19th ban deadline. Meanwhile, with an administration change set for January 20th, it’s possible that President-elect Trump will revive the app.

Stated differently, we should soon have answers to several key questions about TikTok’s U.S. future – with competitors including but not limited to the revamped Triller already maneuvering to attract users should the ban move forward.

As for how the (betting) market expects the unprecedented episode to play out, at the time of writing, Kalshi odds were pointing to a 68% chance that the U.S. “bans TikTok before May.”

Much higher than at January’s beginning, this percentage looks to pertain to the app’s operating continuously in its current form – not necessarily the potential for the platform’s revival under a non-ByteDance owner.

On the other hand, when asked about the chance of the TikTok ban going through, Evercore ISI senior managing director Mark Mahaney recently told Bloomberg Technology that “it’s less than [a] 50% chance, maybe it’s 20-25%.”