By 
President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that a deal for the social video app TikTok might be reached “soon” and that he was in talks with four potential buyers for the US business.
“We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
He stated that “all four are good,” but didn’t go into details about the contenders or indicating which direction he was leaning.
By Gamuchirai Mapako
According to a bipartisan law approved under the Biden administration, ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok has until April 5 to reach an agreement for its US operations or risk being prohibited from entering the nation. TikTok US was valued at up to $50 billion last year, making the US by far its most significant market.
Trump stated last week that an agreement could be reached in the upcoming month, but he would be willing to extend the deadline once more if needed. In order to avoid a protracted TikTok blackout, he has already postponed the original January 19 date and has indicated time and again that he is amenable to a settlement. The president has stated that he thinks the US should be given a 50% share in the corporation as a condition of his efforts to broker a sale.
However, Beijing-based ByteDance has not signalled any interest in selling off its US business, though Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December and attended the inauguration earlier this year. In order to maintain its operations in the United States, the business has endeavoured to alleviate national security worries among U.S. politicians.
According to major investors like SoftBank Group Corp., ByteDance is currently worth over $400 billion. The business is demonstrating confidence in expansion strategy that includes a rising presence in e-commerce that capitalises on the popularity of its video platforms by repurchasing employee shares at a price of $312 billion. Despite the uncertainties surrounding its valued US business, that represents a significant increase from just over a year ago.
Any possible sale would also require approval from the Chinese government, and Beijing’s public statements have not been encouraging thus far. Although there is a strong preference for TikTok to stay entirely within ByteDance, officials have been considering the possibility of Elon Musk purchasing the service in the US, according to Bloomberg News. Musk, who already owns the X social network, has said he’s not interested.
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