Due to national security concerns, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is said to hand over the largest ownership of the short-video sharing app to U.S. investors or risk getting banned in the country. Last call is approaching, and everyone is lining up to buy the Chinese-owned subsidiary company.
Bidders, including Amazon, Blackstone, Zoop (co-founded by Tim Stokely—OnlyFans founder), the Hbar Foundation (co-founded by RJ Phillips), Oracle, and others, have shown interest in acquiring the China-based company and bringing it to a new home.
According to RJ Phillips, Zoop and Hbar are buying TikTok so that creators can benefit directly from the value they generate. Zoop is a more mainstream creator's site aimed at rewarding community members for engagement, while Hbar is a cryptocurrency foundation.
Yesterday, sources revealed that Amazon added the platform to its wish list yesterday—though the bid is reportedly not being taken seriously. Other bidders include a phone tech company called AppLovin, a group called Project Liberty led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt—a baseball team—and even a famous YouTuber named MrBeast.
Meanwhile, the ones who might win are a bunch of money-smart investors from companies called Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone—they're really cclose to getting a thumbs-up from the people in charge at the White House.
TikTok is believed to be worth as much as $100 billion, and any deal is subject to White House approval. However, it's important to know that if ByteDance will not close a deal to sell TikTok tomorrow, the platform will go dark in the U.S.
