President Donald Trump announced that a group of “very wealthy people” is preparing to purchase the American operations of TikTok, as the social media giant faces a government-mandated divestiture aimed at separating it from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump confirmed the existence of a buyer, while acknowledging that Chinese approval may still be necessary.
“We have a buyer for TikTok. I think I’ll need probably China approval and I think President Xi will probably do it,” Trump said, as reported by the Financial Times. He added that more details about the buyers would be shared “in about two weeks,” noting, “It’s a group of very wealthy people.”
The U.S. government has repeatedly extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. The latest deadline is set for September 17, after being postponed three times since the original cutoff in January.
According to earlier reporting by the Financial Times, the White House has been in talks with several prominent U.S. investors—including Andreessen Horowitz, Blackstone, and Silver Lake—to acquire around 50% of TikTok’s American business. Additional stakes could be taken by existing investors such as General Atlantic, Susquehanna, KKR, and Coatue, bringing their combined ownership to about 30%.
However, any potential sale must be approved not only by ByteDance but also by the Chinese government, which has previously signaled it may block such a move. China’s resistance is particularly focused on TikTok’s proprietary algorithm—the powerful technology that drives its personalized content recommendations. That algorithm is registered in China’s official export-control database, making its transfer to a U.S. entity a matter of strategic and regulatory concern.
Analysts note that for the U.S. government’s executive order to be fully satisfied, any buyer must secure control of TikTok’s algorithm, not just the app’s front-end operations or branding. This has proven a major sticking point in negotiations.
TikTok has played an increasingly visible role in American political discourse, especially among younger demographics. President Trump has previously credited the platform with helping him connect with younger voters during the 2024 election campaign.
While May brought record drops in TikTok’s U.S. exports, overall exports from China remained strong, reflecting the broader economic complexity behind the platform’s future. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking: if a deal is not finalized and approved by the September deadline, TikTok could face a complete ban across the United States.
TikTok has not issued an official comment on the matter.
