TikTok's 'rescue' plan

According to the previous ruling, January 19, 2025, was the deadline for TikTok to sell its US assets or cease operations. In the letter, the two senators argued that the Washington administration should extend the deadline by 90 days for TikTok.

Billionaire Frank McCourt is one of the parties interested in acquiring TikTok.

PHOTO: MCCOURT GLOBAL/REUTERS

A day before they sent the letter, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would consider an emergency petition from TikTok and its parent company ByteDance (based in China) regarding the enforcement of a law banning the app on national security concerns. The court will hear presentations from both sides on January 10, 2025. "Given the uncertain future of the law and its implications for freedom of speech, we urge you (Joe Biden) to postpone its implementation for another 90 days by January 19, 2025," Reuters quoted the letter as saying. Assessing TikTok and ByteDance's latest effort, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts believe the app has only a 30% chance of avoiding the ban.

American real estate billionaire Frank McCourt, with an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion according to Bloomberg, shared with Fox News his plan to acquire TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, loses its legal battle in the U.S. Supreme Court. McCourt, executive chairman of McCourt Global (based in New York), said his team is discussing this possibility with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

According to Axios , billionaire McCourt's team has received "unofficial commitments to help raise more than $20 billion" to fund an effort to acquire TikTok should ByteDance decide to sell. The American billionaire's plan to acquire TikTok has the support of the financial services firm Guggenheim Securities (based in New York and Illinois) and Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world's largest law firms.

However, McCourt said he has yet to make contact with ByteDance. "We've tried to approach them but haven't been successful because they (ByteDance) believe they will win the legal battle, and they haven't discussed the possibility of selling TikTok," McCourt told Business Insider. In addition to this plan, other investors, including former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have previously expressed interest in acquiring the popular social media app with approximately 170 million users in the US.

In addition, he admitted that he still doesn't know what TikTok's next move will be if the law officially takes effect. "They'll probably shut TikTok down," the billionaire told Yahoo Finance. "I hope not. President-elect Trump wouldn't want that either," McCourt said. Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on December 16th, according to CNN. The content of the meeting is unclear, but Trump previously suggested he might change his approach to TikTok. It remains unknown what Trump's new approach will be.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ke-hoach-giai-cuu-tiktok-185241220222438375.htm