TikTok Investors Face Another Delay in US Deal

A billionaire investor hoping to acquire TikTok’s US operations says he’s in a state of uncertainty as yet another deadline for a sale approaches.

The US government has repeatedly pushed back the date for ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to either sell the app or face a ban for American users. Former US President Donald Trump is expected to potentially extend the deadline for a fifth time on Tuesday.

“We’re just standing by and waiting to see what happens,” Frank McCourt told BBC News. “But if the moment arrives, we’re prepared to move forward… we’ve raised the capital to buy it – we’ll see.”

The short-form video platform was initially slated to be banned or sold by January, following legislation passed by the US Congress in 2024. Concerns were raised by lawmakers regarding ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government and the potential for Beijing to access data from US users, allegations the company consistently denies.

The law was signed by President Joe Biden and later affirmed by the Supreme Court in early 2025.

Previously, Trump and his administration suggested a deal was already in place, with the purported approval of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The proposed acquisition involved prominent US investors, including Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell. Talks aimed at finalizing the transaction during an October meeting between Trump and Xi, however, ended without a resolution.

Since then, neither ByteDance nor the Chinese government has officially endorsed a sale, despite Trump’s previous assertions. With no similar claims of an imminent deal this time, analysts widely anticipate another extension.

Mr. McCourt, without directly referencing Trump’s favoured investors, expressed concerns about concentrated power within social media platforms like TikTok. He heads a group of investors that also includes Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary.

“My hope would be that whatever happens, that it is shut down or sold, and lands in the hands of people that comply with the law,” he stated. He further revealed his organization, Project Liberty, is prepared to operate TikTok using technology independent of its Chinese counterparts – notably, a different recommendation algorithm.

The future of TikTok in the US continues to hang in the balance, with the latest developments adding to the ongoing saga.

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