US billionaire Frank McCourt reveals plans to acquire TikTok
Billionaire Frank McCourt is preparing a bid to acquire TikTok's US business. McCourt aims to prioritise people and data empowerment by restructuring TikTok and migrating it to an open-source protocol. Other investors, including former US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok.
McCourt's bid comes in response to a new federal law that requires TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular platform or face a ban.
McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is collaborating with investment bank Guggenheim Securities to organise the bid. The goal, according to McCourt, is to prioritise "people and data empowerment" by restructuring TikTok and migrating it to an open-source protocol that promotes transparency.
While McCourt is not the only investor interested in acquiring TikTok, with former US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin expressing similar intentions, ByteDance has already stated that it has no plans to sell the platform. Additionally, the Chinese government is unlikely to approve a sale that includes the recommendation engine powering TikTok's video feed.
ByteDance and TikTok recently filed a lawsuit against the US government to block the implementation of the law. In a separate challenge, eight TikTok creators argued that the law violates their First Amendment rights to free speech. The company is also engaged in a legal battle in Montana to prevent the enforcement of a state law that would ban the video-sharing platform.
However, amidst the legal disputes, TikTok, Montana users, and the state of Montana have agreed to put a stay on the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's ban until the federal lawsuits are resolved. The Montana law, which would be nullified if TikTok is acquired by a company not based in a foreign adversary country, was temporarily blocked before its scheduled implementation on January 1.
Frank McCourt, with a net worth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes, previously sold the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012 to Guggenheim Baseball Management. In 2016, he acquired the French soccer club Marseille.
Billionaire Frank McCourt is preparing a bid to acquire TikTok's US business.
McCourt aims to prioritise people and data empowerment by restructuring TikTok and migrating it to an open-source protocol.
Other investors, including former US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok.
Source: SCMP