Trump is searching for potential TikTok buyers — who are the likely contenders?

President Donald Trump wants an American investor to take a major stake in TikTok from Bityans. There are many parties in the competition even as potential buyers face a host of legal hurdles and barriers.

After entering Tiktok recovery in usa Delaying a law that would effectively ban the app, Trump is looking for ways to keep the popular platform afloat.

He has submitted a proposal to an American stakeholder to buy the company and then sell a 50% stake to the US government, which will jointly manage the app with the private party.

So, who are the potential contenders for one of the most popular apps in the United States?

The world’s richest person leads Trump’s new government efficiency department, has close business links to China and has… Expressing opposition To block Tiktok.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the Chinese government was considering a plan for Musk to acquire Tiktok’s American operations, citing anonymous sources. This was followed by a report from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that the Tiktok CEO was Seek advice from Musk Before Trump’s inauguration.

CNBC was unable to reach Musk for comment.

“Elon Musk remains front and center as a potential bidder for Tiktok which will likely include some outside tech partners/investors to get a deal done,” Wedbush said in a research note on Wednesday.

“Musk will be chosen by Beijing and his ironclad relationship with Trump would make this a very logical choice in our view,” the note added.

Nat Schindler, an analyst at Scotiabank, also noted that Musk’s Twitter acquisition demonstrated his interest in the global social media platform. However, he also sees some potential obstacles for the tech mogul.

“Musk is already under fire for owning

Trump also said he would “love” to see oracle president Larry Ellison buys the platform.

Ellison, Longtime Trump supporter, I stood next to the president in a press conference On him AI Infrastructure Investment plans on Tuesday, as Trump was fielded with questions about a potential Tiktok deal.

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

“Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President,” Ellison replied.

Ellison and his company are currently at the center of the dilemma for Tiktok, which serves as a cloud infrastructure provider for Bytedance in the US.

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

Ellison had pitched for Tiktok, along with Walmartback in 2020 when Trump first pushed for a ban on the platform. Neither company responded to CNBC’s request for comment.

It was Trump consent From the Walmart-Oracle deal in principle, which would have seen the tech and retail giants partner 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 fell in the face of legal challenges.

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

“[We believe] “Oracle/Ellison could play a pivotal role in any deal given its key technology partnership with Tiktok and its appearance in the White House with Project Stargate,” Wedbush said.

Wedbush added that he expects a slew of Tiktok offers to arrive in the coming weeks from a group of players with Musk and Ellison leading the pack.

He added that potential suitors would likely include some of America’s biggest social media and technology players, such as dead and Googleas well as Musk’s X.

Meta and Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s inquiry.

However, Sarah Krebs, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, warned that players like Meta, Google and Musk taking a large stake in Tiktok could raise antitrust questions.

Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler noted that there are also a number of other players, including existing investors BlackRockand coat, and the Atlantic General, which possesses hunk Tiktok’s parent company. According to him, some of these investors will likely participate in any sale of the American platform by investing in the new entity.

“It is also likely that other large VCs, hedge funds and asset managers from Tiger to Fidelity will show interest in a fast-growing global platform with such a huge viewer base,” Schindler said, adding that finding investors to own part of Tiktok would be an issue.

In one video, the internet personality claimed he had Formal offer readyhe may be the new CEO of Tiktok.

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

On Thursday, Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Donaldson, told CNBC that “several potential buyers are in ongoing discussions with Jimmy, but he does not have exclusive agreements with any of them.”

O’Leary told CNBC last year that he wanted to Buy the platform at a discount Because any possible deal would not involve the original Tiktok algorithm. The organization said it already has an alternative to the algorithm for use in Tiktok US

After Trump’s comments on a 50% stake in the platform, both McCourt and O’Leary He told CNBC this week that they were interested in a Tiktok deal and were hoping to work with Trump to make it happen.

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

Regardless of the bidding interest, a number of legal and technology experts told CNBC that Trump’s executive order to delay the Tiktok ban contradicts the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling. The decision to stick with Avaka He may face legal opposition.

O’Leary also told CNBC on Monday that a Tiktok deal couldn’t happen Under current lawafter the Supreme Court upheld an impending ban on Tiktok under Protecting Americans from the Foreign Tax Application ActOr pavaka, on Sunday.

Beijing and its pending negotiations with Trump regarding trade with the United States are also expected to play a deciding factor in whether the Chinese government will allow the disposal charge.

“In this game of high-stakes poker between the Trump administration and Beijing, Tiktok is clearly a big chip at the table,” Wash said.