TikTok Sale Deal: U.S. President Donald Trump stated that a deal between TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short video app—used by 170 million Americans—would be finalized before the April 5 deadline.
In January, President Trump set the deadline for TikTok to secure a non-Chinese buyer or face a potential U.S. ban on national security grounds, which was expected to take effect under a 2024 law.
Private equity firm Blackstone is considering a small minority investment in TikTok’s U.S. operations. Blackstone is in discussions to join ByteDance’s existing non-Chinese shareholders and contribute fresh capital in a bid for TikTok’s U.S. business.
The U.S. government argues that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance makes it vulnerable to influence by the Chinese government, with concerns that Beijing could use the app to carry out influence operations against the United States and collect data on American citizens.
President Trump had previously indicated he was open to extending the April 5 deadline if an agreement over the social media app had not been reached by then. ( SHABD)
