Billionaire Frank McCourt remains interested in acquiring TikTok if the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, is forced to sell due to a federal law. McCourt’s company, Project Liberty, has secured over $20 billion in capital commitments for a potential bid.
The law, known as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” mandates that ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. buyer by January 19, 2025, or face a ban.
Although ByteDance is challenging the law in court, McCourt is preparing to move forward with his bid, citing concerns over U.S. consumer data protection and China’s access to American user information.
McCourt has begun talks with the incoming Trump administration, but has not yet entered negotiations with ByteDance, which is working to overturn the law. While McCourt’s bid remains in the early stages, the acquisition cost will depend on which parts of TikTok ByteDance is willing to sell.
ByteDance has insisted it will not sell TikTok’s algorithm, which is closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
