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Potential buyers
President Donald Trump has said that a deal to secure TikTok’s future in the U.S. is “very close”, so let’s take a look at who’s currently in the running.
The administration has set a deadline of April 5 for the app to be sold by Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance. However, there is some suggestion that a minority stake owned by a U.S company with China retaining control of the algorithm could be enough to keep the app alive.
As the clock is ticking, here’s who’s potentially in the game to take over TikTok:
- Amazon
- Oracle
- Microsoft
- Perplexity (AI company)
- Blackstone (private equity company)
- Elon Musk
- Tim Stokely (OnlyFans founder)
- Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful from TV’s “Shark Tank”)
- MrBeast (YouTuber)
OnlyFans founder reportedly interested
The founder of OnlyFans (yes, that OnlyFans), Tim Stokely, is also reportedly interested in acquiring TikTok and has (as per Reuters) submitted a bid for the platform.
Stokely is said to be partnering with an organisation called HBAR Foundation which manages the treasury for the Hedera cryptocurrency blockchain to make the bid. According to Reuters, Stokely’s publishing company Zoop would be involved in managing TikTok’s U.S. operations to turn it into a more creator-friendly platform. Which would be interesting, to say the least.
What happened in January?
Before the law could be enforced, TikTok itself begun shutting the app’s services down in the U.S. on the evening of Saturday 18 January. The app’s 170 million users were hit with pop-up messages explaining the app was no longer available in the U.S.
The message instructed people to “stay tuned” as a solution was expected to be worked on with President Trump when he took office on Monday 20 January.
If no deal is reached by April 5 and there’s no further extension, we could see a similar switch-off this weekend.
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Amazon makes a bid
By far the biggest name in the mix for a possible takeover of TikTok is Amazon. According to a report in the the New York Times earlier this week, the retail giant made an offer through a letter addressed to Vice President J.D. Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The bid from Amazon makes a lot of sense as TikTok has recently evolved into an e-commerce hub where influencers can recommend products to followers. They can shop within the app via the TikTok Shop and from Amazon’s point of view, that’s some serious competition.
Another extension?
The initial TikTok ban was averted due to an executive order from President Trump that delayed it by 75 days. Could the same thing happen again?
According to sources speaking with ABC News, the administration is considering another executive order that could extend the deadline further. The site also reports the government is considering a deal to save TikTok that would let China keep control of the platform’s algorithm while a U.S. company takes a minority stake.
Here we go again
When TikTok was “banned” in Janaury, the Chinese company behind the app — ByteDance — voluntarily switched off the service for U.S.-based users. It was only down for 12 hours, but it was a sign of what could happen if a buyer isn’t found.
However, things have changed somewhat as Trump has indicated that he will extend the deadline if needed. Meanwhile, there have been a number of potential buyers interested in acquiring the service.
“We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump said. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
We’ll be following the events as they happen and bringing you the latest updates right here.
This article was originally published by a www.tomsguide.com . Read the Original article here. .