‘We have a buyer for TikTok’: US President Trump says ‘group of wealthy people’ ready to buy app, but deal needs China’s approval

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said a “group of wealthy people” would be buying TikTok, the video-sharing platform owned by China’s ByteDance. While he did not mention who these “very wealthy people” are, he said he would reveal the names of the people involved “in about two weeks.”

According to AFP, which cited the U.S. President’s interview on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, he said, “We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way.” He also mentioned that the deal would likely need the green light from China, adding, “I think President Xi [Jinping] will probably do it.”

In January, TikTok was banned in the U.S. under a law upheld by the Supreme Court, giving its owner, ByteDance, until Jan 19 to sell the app or face a ban. The ban lasted 12 hours before President Trump, who took office on Jan 20, signed an executive order delaying enforcement by 75 days.

Days later, Reuters reported that the U.S. President said he would be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying TikTok if he wanted to.

In March, the U.S. President said he was in talks with four groups of people for the video-sharing platform’s sale, adding, “A lot of people want it.” By the end of the month, he said a deal would likely be reached before the April 5 deadline.

However, in mid-June, the deadline for TikTok’s sale was delayed for another 90 days after President Trump told NBC News in early May that the platform has “a little warm spot” in his heart. He noted then, “If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension.”

This has been the third time the deadline for the sale has been extended.

In May, President Trump said a group was ready to offer ByteDance “a lot of money” for TikTok’s U.S. operations, AFP reported. A month earlier, he claimed China would have agreed to the sale if not for tensions over tariffs on Beijing.

ByteDance has confirmed it’s in talks with U.S. officials but said any deal would still need approval under Chinese law. /TISG

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