Today, TikTok is facing the biggest ban crisis in the United States, selling or being banned. But ByteDance, which is restricted by domestic rules that prohibit the sale of TikTok's algorithms, made it clear that it would not sell the app.
Some potential US buyers, such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google, are also unable to participate due to legal issues of their own. Along came an unlikely figure: Frank McCourt, the real estate mogul and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Undeterred by TikTok's complicated and difficult situation, Mr. McCourt has actively invested in buying TikTok.
According to media reports, since December, Mr. McCourt and his team have shown great drive and determination. They spoke in depth with more than 60 elected officials and policymakers about TikTok's future and with members of President-elect Trump's team in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a possible deal.
Today, TikTok is facing the biggest ban crisis in the United States, selling or being banned. But ByteDance, which is restricted by domestic rules that prohibit the sale of TikTok's algorithms, made it clear that it would not sell the app.
Some potential US buyers, such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google, are also unable to participate due to legal issues of their own. Along came an unlikely figure: Frank McCourt, the real estate mogul and former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Undeterred by TikTok's complicated and difficult situation, Mr. McCourt has actively invested in buying TikTok.
According to media reports, since December, Mr. McCourt and his team have shown great drive and determination. They spoke in depth with more than 60 elected officials and policymakers about TikTok's future and with members of President-elect Trump's team in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a possible deal.
According to people familiar with the matter, they have even begun to recruit a possible CEO and have reached out to former TikTok COO V. Pappas. Although V. Pappas resigned in 2023, Mr. McCourt's team apparently hoped that the addition of the former executive would make the project more attractive to Trump.
In terms of money, McCourt's net worth is $2.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is far from the roughly $25 billion needed to buy TikTok, but he has not been deterred. Having recently held fundraising meetings in New York and San Francisco to solicit support from potential banking partners, Mr McCourt is confident that "capital is not the issue here".
Frank McCourt's motivation to buy TikTok may also stem from his relationship with Trump.
These two men know each other in the real estate business, and Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to avoid a ban on TikTok, which certainly makes McCourt's plan more likely.
McCourt also said last week, "He and I know each other, and when he says he doesn't want to see it banned, we don't want to see it banned, which to me means a deal and we have a solution." A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
