Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as the YouTuber MrBeast, is part of a consortium of investors aiming to acquire TikTok with a bid exceeding $20 billion. According to Bloomberg, Donaldson has joined forces with Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley, head of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital, in this ambitious endeavor. The group estimates that it would take approximately $25 billion to secure the purchase of the social media giant.
Despite their efforts, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has firmly stated that its U.S. operations are not on the market. The group led by Tinsley has yet to receive a direct response from ByteDance. Representatives for Donaldson have indicated that he is engaging with multiple parties and is open to aligning with the leading bidder, suggesting a potential shift in alliances as the situation develops. On January 22, Donaldson tweeted, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking."
Earlier this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned that Microsoft was in discussions to purchase TikTok, expressing his desire for a competitive bidding war over the app. Microsoft has not yet confirmed these claims.
TikTok faced a significant disruption when it was taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users just before a law came into effect on January 19, which required ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns or face a ban. The app went dark after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal following TikTok's First Amendment challenge. The justices noted that while data collection is common in the digital age, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns."
Following assurances from Trump, TikTok was able to restore its service without facing penalties. The company stated, "It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."
After taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is currently in discussions with various companies and individuals about a potential buyout of TikTok, and has expressed openness to Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, taking control of the platform.
