The clock is ticking for the Chinese parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban, and former President Donald Trump believes a deal will be reached before the April 5 deadline.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump stressed the overwhelming interest in acquiring the platform. “We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” he told reporters. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
ByteDance, under pressure from Washington, must offload the app or risk being shut out of the U.S. market. Lawmakers argue that the company’s Chinese ties are a national security threat, with concerns over data privacy and potential influence operations by Beijing.
A number of U.S. investors have surfaced as interested parties. Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, is exploring a minority stake in TikTok’s U.S. business, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The firm is reportedly considering joining Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, two of ByteDance’s existing non-Chinese stakeholders, in injecting fresh capital to secure the deal.
Vice President JD Vance is confident that an agreement will take shape before the deadline. Meanwhile, Trump himself has implied a possible extension if negotiations require more time.
However, China’s role in the process is still a wildcard. The former president acknowledged that Beijing would need to sign off on the sale, adding, “Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done.”
Before the current TikTok ban reports in the U.S., bipartisan lawmakers pushed through legislation requiring ByteDance to divest its American business by January 19, 2024, but legal and political delays bought the company additional time.
Fast forward to the recent case, with the April 5 deadline, Trump is betting on a resolution. “There’ll be a deal with TikTok, I’m pretty certain,” he said.
