Bytedance was given a 75-day extension to sell its TikTok business in the United States through an executive order issued by President Donald Trump yesterday. This means that the future of the app used by 170 million users in the United States remains unclear if it is not sold to a state-owned entity.
Bloomberg reports that prominent YouTuber MrBeast has now joined a group of investors led by Jesse Tinsley, who is also the founder of Employer.com. The purchase will be made in full cash but the value of the purchase offer to Bytedance was not disclosed.
This is the second group to show similar interest after the first group consisting of Kevin O’Leary from the Shark Tank series announced their intention last month. TikTok’s sale price is estimated to be between $100-$200 billion, which is much higher than Twitter when it was bought by Elon Musk and Instagram when it was bought by Mark Zuckerberg.
Although China initially rejected the TikTok sale, a new statement issued two days ago gives Bytedance the authority to proceed or not. Trump was quoted as saying that he would like to see 50% ownership of TikTok held by a US entity.