A group of American investors has proposed the purchase of TikTok for a significant amount, but is ByteDance interested?

TikTok, the hugely popular short-form video platform, is at the centre of major acquisition talks with high-profile figures considering billion-dollar offers. Reports suggest that Roblox CEO David Baszucki is among those interested, with potential bids reaching as high as $25 billion. This comes at a time when TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is under growing pressure to divest its US operations due to regulatory and data privacy concerns.

As soon as he was inaugurated, President Trump made an executive order that TikTok’s US ban was to be extended by 75 days. This was so more time could be given to find an appropriate buyer for the platform, which has meant lots of interest from major players. If a buyer is not found within the extension, the ban will be enforced (although who even knows at this point).

Weeks ago, X-owner Elon Musk was tipped to buy TikTok, although ByteDance dismissed this rumour as “fiction”. A group of American investors have put together a proposal to secure TikTok for “over $20 billion”. Thr group includes founder of Employer.com Jesse Tinsley, David Baszucki, the CEO of Roblox, and Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital. However, ByteDance do not appear interested so far, with Tinsley admitting that “We have not heard back directly. It has been radio silence on their side.”

However, any sale will face significant challenges. ByteDance has indicated that it may not include TikTok’s algorithm in the deal. The algorithm is what makes TikTok’s content recommendation system so powerful, and without it, a new owner would have to develop their own system – something that could drastically change how content is discovered.

Unsurpirsingly, numerous potential buyers have cropped up since TikTok was granted its 75-day extension. President Trump has expressed his keenness for a “bidding war” to commence. He also stated his wish for the government to have a significant stake in TikTok: “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.”

Despite the extension, the law around the ban has already taken effect. This means that ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law’s divestiture requirements in order to have the platform securely reinstated in the US. TikTok is still unavailable to download from the App Store and Google Play Store. This is due to the risk of incurring massive fines around $5,000 per violation if users were to download the app during this time.

Users who already have TikTok downloaded can continue to access the platform in the US. However, there are concerns that “app rot” may soon set in and, with no new features or bug fixes, the TikTok experience could seriously deteriorate.