- Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fight off a ban on the app.
- Beijing strongly prefers that TikTok remains under ByteDance's ownership, but the company is contesting the impending ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
- A deal with Musk, one of Trump's closest allies, holds some appeal for the Chinese government as they look for ways to work with the incoming Trump administration.
- Under one scenario, Musk's X (the former Twitter) would take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together, potentially benefiting X's efforts to attract advertisers.
- Chinese officials have not reached a firm consensus on how to proceed, and ByteDance may not be aware of the government's discussions with Musk.
- TikTok's US operations could be valued at around $40-50 billion, which would be a substantial sum even for the world's richest person, Musk.
- ByteDance has repeatedly stated that its priority is to fight the US legislation that requires it to sell or shut down the US TikTok operations.
- Separating TikTok's US business would be highly complex, affecting shareholders in China and the US.
- Other potential buyers for TikTok US include billionaire Frank McCourt, Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, Microsoft, and Oracle.
- Musk is in a position to influence China-US relations as the world's richest person with businesses that straddle the two largest economies.
Bloomberg: Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok
Source:
www.bloomberg.com