Trump is looking for potential buyers of TikTok – who are the candidates?

President Donald Trump wants a US investor to take a major stake in ByteDance’s TikTok. Several parties are in the fray, though potential buyers face numerous hurdles and legal hurdles.

After entering restore TikTok in the US and delaying legislation that would have effectively banned the app, Trump is looking for ways to keep the popular platform afloat.

An American participant has proposed to buy the company and then sell a 50% stake to the US government, which will jointly run the application with the private party.

So who are the contenders for one of the most popular apps in the US?

The world’s richest man is heading up Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, which has close business ties to China He expressed his opposition TikTok ban.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the Chinese government was considering a plan for Musk to acquire TikTok’s US operations, citing anonymous sources. Following a Wall Street Journal report, he claimed to have been the CEO of TikTok Asking Musk for advice Before Trump’s inauguration.

CNBC could not reach Musk for comment.

“Elon Musk remains in the forefront as a potential bidder for TikTok, and likely includes a number of tech partners/outside investors to get the deal done,” Wedbush said in a research note on Wednesday.

“Musk would be hand-picked by Beijing and his close relationship with Trump would make this very logical in our view,” the statement added.

Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler also noted that Musk’s purchase of Twitter has shown his interest in global social media platforms. However, he also sees some potential obstacles for the tech mogul.

“Musk is already under fire for his takeover of X and the perception that he is using it to promote certain political ideas, and his involvement in TikTok could fuel more fire and potentially lead to antitrust scrutiny,” Schindler said.

Trump also said he would “love” to see it the oracle The President Larry Ellison has bought the platform.

Ellison, longtime Trump supporter, He was next to the President press conference on him AI infrastructure investment plans on Tuesday, where Trump was asked questions about a potential TikTok deal.

“What I’m thinking of saying to somebody is, buy it and give half to the United States of America. Half and we’ll give you a license,” Trump said before turning to Ellison to ask if the deal made sense.

“I think that’s very good Mr. President,” Ellison replied.

Ellison and his company are currently at the center of TikTok’s dilemma, acting as ByteDance’s cloud infrastructure provider in the US.

With Tiktok, its relationship with Oracle is “directly invested in Tiktok’s success in the region,” said Scotiabank’s Schindler.

Ellison made an offer on Tiktok, along with it WalmartIn 2020 when Trump pushed for a ban on the platform. Both companies did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Trump had it accepted The Walmart-Oracle deal would in principle bring the tech and retail giants together to take over the video-sharing app in the US, avoiding a shutdown. However, the Trump administration’s attempt to ban TikTok in the US failed in the face of legal challenges.

Ellison later joined a group of investors which helped Elon Musk buy social media platform Twitter, now known as X, in 2022.

“(We think) Oracle/Ellison could play a key role in any deal given their technology partnership with TikTok and their exposure at the White House with the Stargate project,” Wedbush said.

Wedbush added that it expects more TikTok deals to come in the coming weeks from multiple players led by Musk and Ellison.

He added that prospects are likely to include some of America’s biggest social media and technology players Meta and googleIn addition to Musk’s X.

Meta and Google did not immediately respond to an inquiry from CNBC.

Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, however, warned that players like Meta, Google and Musk taking a large stake in TikTok could raise anti-trust questions.

Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler noted that there were other stakeholders, including existing investors. BlackRockCoatue and General Atlantic, owners a big chunk From TikTok’s parent company. According to him, some of these investors are likely to participate in any sale of the US platform by investing in the new entity.

“Other VCs, hedge funds and asset managers from Tiger to Fidelity would also show strong interest in a growing global platform with such a large audience base,” Schindler said of owning a stake in Tiktok. that finding investors will not. have a problem

In a video, he claimed to have an internet personality Official offer readyHe joked that he might be the new CEO of TikTok.

Media reports They also mentioned Donaldson and a group of investors preparing to make a bid for TikTok.

On Thursday, Matthew Hiltz, a spokesman for Donaldson, told CNBC that “Several potential buyers are in ongoing discussions with Jimmy, but he does not have an exclusive deal in place.”

O’Leary told CNBC he wanted to last year buy the platform at a discount because any possible deal will not include TikTok’s original algorithm. The organization said it already has a replacement algorithm to use for TikTok US

Following Trump’s comments about a 50% stake in the platform, both McCourt and O’Leary told CNBC this week that they were interested in a TikTok deal and hoped to work with Trump.

McCourt also told CNBC that TikTok wants to run a decentralized social networking protocol, or DSNP, which is overseen by the Project Liberty Institute, a nonprofit founded by the billionaire.

Bidding interests aside, some legal and technology experts told CNBC that Trump’s executive order delaying the ban on TikTok contradicts the Supreme Court’s precedent. Judgment upholding PAFACA and can make legal opposition.

O’Leary also told CNBC on Monday that a TikTok deal could not happen according to the current lawAfter the Supreme Court upheld the ban against TikTok Americans Protecting Foreign Adversaries Controlled Applications Actor PAFACA, on Sunday.

Beijing and its negotiations with Trump on trade with the US will be crucial in deciding whether the Chinese government will allow ByteDance to divest.

“In this high-stakes poker game between the Trump Administration and Beijing, it’s clear that TikTok is the big chip on the table,” Wedush said.