Trump is searching for potential TikTok buyers — who are the likely contenders?

President Donald Trump wants a U.S. investor to take a major stake in ByteDance’s TikTok. Several parties are in contention even as potential buyers face a litany of legal hurdles and barriers.

After stepping in to restore TikTok in the U.S. and delaying a law that would effectively ban the app, Trump is looking for long-term avenues to keep the popular platform afloat.

He has put forward a proposal for an American stakeholder to buy the company and then sell a 50% stake to the U.S. government, which will jointly run the app along with the private party. 

So, who are the likely contenders for one of the most popular apps in the U.S.?

Trump has already flagged several major investors within his inner circle as acceptable buyers, one of which is Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk. 

The world’s richest person is leading Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, has close business ties to China and has voiced opposition to the TikTok ban. 

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the Chinese government was considering a plan to have Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, citing anonymous sources. That followed a report from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed TikTok’s CEO had been soliciting advice from Musk ahead of Trump’s inauguration. 

CNBC was unable to reach Musk for comment. 

“Elon Musk continues to be front and center as a potential bidder for TikTok which likely includes some tech partners/outside investors to get a deal done,” Wedbush said in a research note on Wednesday. 

“Musk would be hand picked by Beijing and his ironclad relationship with Trump would make this a very logical choice in our view,” the note added. 

Nat Schindler, an analyst at Scotiabank, also noted that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has demonstrated his interest in global social media platforms. However, he also sees some potential obstacles for the tech tycoon. 

“Musk is under fire already for owning X and the perception that he is using it to promote certain political ideas, and any involvement in TikTok could draw additional fire and potentially antitrust scrutiny,” Schindler said. 

Trump has also said he’d “like” to see Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchase the platform.

Ellison, a longtime Trump supporter, stood beside the President at a press conference on his AI infrastructure investment plans on Tuesday, where Trump was asked questions about a potential TikTok deal. 

“What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half and we’ll give you the permit,” Trump said before turning to Ellison to ask if the deal sounded reasonable.

“Sounds like a good deal to me Mr. President,” Ellison replied. 

Ellison and his company are currently at the center of the TikTok dilemma, operating as a cloud infrastructure provider for ByteDance in the U.S.

Given its existing relationship with Tiktok, Oracle and is “directly invested in Tiktok’s success in the region,” Scotiabank’s Schindler said. 

Ellison had bid for Tiktok, along with Walmart, back in 2020 when Trump first pushed for a ban on the platform. Neither company responded to CNBC’s request for comment. 

Trump had approved of the Walmart-Oracle deal in principle, which would’ve seen the tech and retail giants partner to take over the video-sharing app in the U.S., avoiding a shutdown. However, the Trump administration’s attempt to ban TikTok in the U.S. fell through in the face of legal challenges.

Ellison later joined a group of investors that helped Elon Musk buy social media platform Twitter, now known as X, in 2022. 

“[We believe] Oracle/Ellison could play a pivotal role in any deal given their key technology partnership with TikTok and his appearance at the White House with Project Stargate,” Wedbush said.

Wedbush added that it expects a slew of TikTok bids to come over the coming weeks from a host of players with Musk and Ellison leading the pack.

In addition to Musk and Ellison, experts flagged several other parties likely to be interested in a potential deal for TikTok, adding that the barriers to entry were high. 

Given the financial stakes of a TikTok deal, it’s unlikely that some rogue investor is going to swoop in and buy the platform on the cheap, Paul Triolo of Albright Stone Group told CNBC. 

“While an up-to-date valuation on TikTok is difficult to come up with, it is likely to the order of $40-80 billion, meaning whoever decides to jump in has to be ready with some serious money,” he said. 

He added that potential suitors are likely to include some of America’s largest social media and technology players, such as Meta and Google, in addition to Musk’s X. 

Meta and Google didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC inquiry.

Sarah Kreps, the director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, however, warned that players such as Meta, Google and Musk getting a substantial stake in TikTok could raise antitrust questions.

Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler noted that there were also a number of other players, including existing investors BlackRock, Coatue, and General Atlantic, who own a large chunk of TikTok’s parent company. According to him, some of these investors are likely to participate in any sale of the U.S. platform by investing in the new entity.

“Other large VCs, hedge funds, and asset managers from Tiger to Fidelity would also likely show interest in a fast growing global platform with such a huge viewer base,” said Schindler, adding that finding investors to own a part of Tiktok won’t be a problem.

The fervor surrounding a purchase of TikTok U.S. has also seen some unconventional players enter the fray. 

Social media superstar MrBeast — real name Jimmy Donaldson — who has more than 100 million TikTok followers has posted several videos in which he indicated serious interest in buying the platform, claiming he has had talks with billionaires. 

In one video, the internet personality claimed he had an official offer ready, jesting that he might be the new TikTok CEO. 

Media reports have also mentioned Donaldson and a group of investors preparing to make a bid for TikTok. 

On Thursday, Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesperson for Donaldson, told CNBC that “Several potential buyers are in ongoing discussions with Jimmy, but he has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”

Led by Project Liberty Founder Frank McCourt and involving Canadian businessman and TV personality Kevin O’Leary, “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” has made a $20 billion cash offer to buy TikTok. 

O’Leary told CNBC last year that he wanted to buy the platform at a discount as any possible deal won’t include TikTok’s original algorithm. The organization said it already has a replacement for the algorithm to use for TikTok U.S. 

Following Trump’s comments on a 50% stake in the platform, both McCourt and O’Leary told CNBC this week that they were interested in a TikTok deal and were hoping to work with Trump to make it happen. 

McCourt has also told CNBC that he wants TikTok to run a decentralized social networking protocol, or DSNP, overseen by the Project Liberty Institute, a nonprofit founded by the billionaire.

Bidding interest aside, a number of legal and tech experts have told CNBC that Trump’s executive order to delay the TikTok ban contradicts the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling to uphold the PAFACA and could face legal opposition.

O’Leary also told CNBC on Monday that a TikTok deal could not happen under the current law, after the Supreme Court upheld an impending ban on TikTok under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or PAFACA, on Sunday. 

Beijing and its pending negotiations with Trump regarding trade with the U.S. is also expected to play a determining factor in whether the Chinese government would allow ByteDance to make a divestiture.

“In this game of high stakes poker between the Trump Administration and Beijing it’s clear TikTok is a big chip on the table,” Wedush said