A major shareholder in Bytedance, the Beijing-based owner of TikTok, said on Wednesday it was confident a deal would be reached to ensure the video-sharing app stays online in the US – and suggested there may be options “short sales” on the tables.
TikTok received a lifeline this week from President Trump, who issued an executive order delaying the implementation of a national ban by 75 days, while China-based ByteDance seeks a US buyer. The app remains online after a brief shutdown last weekend.
Bill Ford, CEO of ByteDance shareholder General Atlantic, who also sits on the board of directors of parent TikTok, said “it’s in everyone’s best interest” to reach a deal after Trump’s order.
“We will continue with it, as soon as maybe at the end of the week to negotiate what can work,” Ford told Axios during an event at the annual World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland.
“The Chinese government, the US government and the company and the board need to be engaged in this conversation.”
Ford also said there could be “short sale” terms that would satisfy US authorities, but did not elaborate.
He also faulted the Biden administration for not “engaging with us in a real dialogue” before the Jan. 19 sale deadline.
The Chinese government, which has long vowed to block any forced sale of TikTok, changed its tune this week and signaled that the company should be allowed to explore a potential deal.
General Atlantic and Blackrock are among the many institutional investors that collectively own a 60% stake in ByteDance. The company says its executives and employees each own 20%.
President Trump has vowed to “save TikTok” and said he wants the US to take a 50% ownership stake in the app as part of a joint venture, although the exact details of his plan remain unclear.
On Tuesday, Trump said he would be open to his close adviser Elon Musk, who already owns social media platform X, making an offer to buy TikTok.
Trump also invited Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, whose company is a cloud computing partner for TikTok, to get involved.
Other potential buyers include a joint bid from billionaire Frank McCourt and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, who have said they have $20 billion in commitments as part of a plan to buy the TikTok brand and rebuild its algorithm from scratch in the US. soil.
Another group that includes YouTube star Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson and Employer.com CEO Jesse Tinsley is also looking to buy TikTok.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he’s interested in investing in TikTok, but said he’s cut off any offers to buy the app outright, while former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is also said to be exploring an acquisition in the last few months.
Any buyer will face an uphill battle to meet the criteria of the bipartisan law, which requires China to divest TikTok over national security concerns. China hawks, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), have said any ties to the Chinese Communist Party should be eliminated entirely.
US lawmakers and the federal government say TikTok is effectively a spying and propaganda tool capable of gathering massive data and influencing public opinion through its algorithm.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law two days ahead of schedule, rejecting ByteDance’s argument that it violated the First Amendment.
As The Post reported, TikTok remains unavailable in app stores operated by tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
Under the sales law, US companies that facilitate access to TikTok face fines of up to $5,000 per user. That would add up to $850 billion, given TikTok’s US user base of 170 million.
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