On June 29, 2025, during an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had found “a very wealthy group of buyers” to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations and would disclose the details of the transaction in about two weeks.
Trump made the remarks during an exclusive interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” where he also addressed several other issues, including military actions against Iran, U.S.-China trade relations, tariffs, and more.
“By the way, we found a buyer for TikTok. I think it may require approval from China, and I believe China should agree,” Trump said, adding that he would disclose the buyer’s identity in approximately two weeks. When Bartiromo pressed whether the buyer is a tech company, Trump responded, “They are very wealthy. It’s a group of very rich people.”
As of the time of Alaric’s report, TikTok has not yet responded regarding whether the U.S. operations will be sold or to whom the potential transaction may involve.
On June 19, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to extend the deadline for TikTok’s divestiture by another 90 days, marking the third time he has delayed the final deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations. On June 17, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in a press release, “As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to be banned in the U.S.”（Trump Delays TikTok Ban for Third Time, Says He Doesn’t Want App Shut Down in U.S）
The TikTok ban was initially set to take effect on January 19, 2025, and TikTok, along with other ByteDance apps, was removed from app stores in the U.S. On January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order delaying the TikTok ban, granting a 75-day buffer, meaning that the “sell or ban” clause had to complete the negotiation by April 5. On April 4, Trump announced that he would sign an executive order extending TikTok’s operations for another 75 days, postponing the ban to June 19, 2025.
This most recent extension on June 19 will last for 90 days. Leavitt stated that the White House will use this time to ensure the transaction is completed so that American users can continue using TikTok and that its data security is maintained. The next potential deadline for the TikTok ban will be September 17, 2025.
Despite many companies and tech firms, including AI startup Perplexity AI, recruitment service Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, real estate mogul Frank McCourt, and e-commerce giant Amazon, expressing interest in acquiring TikTok, no substantial progress has been made.
Whether TikTok can be divested depends not only on ByteDance’s willingness but also on the approval of the Chinese government. On August 28, 2020, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology amended the “Catalog of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted for Export,” adding “personalized information push services based on data analysis” and “artificial intelligence interactive interface technologies” to the export control list. According to this regulation, domestic companies wishing to export these restricted technologies—whether via trade, investment, or other means—must receive approval from the provincial-level commerce authorities before substantial negotiations or contract signings can take place. This means that for TikTok, whose business model relies on algorithm-based recommendations, selling its assets or controlling stakes abroad requires permission from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Earlier in April, after the introduction of the “reciprocal tariffs,” Trump stated, “We don’t want TikTok to go dark. We look forward to completing this deal with TikTok and China.” He had previously expressed his willingness to extend the TikTok ban, always asserting that a sale could be completed within the 75-day window, urging China to agree to sell TikTok to U.S. buyers.
Under Trump’s proposed divestiture plan for TikTok, the company would be turned into a joint venture, co-owned by TikTok’s current stakeholders and/or new stakeholders. Regardless of the acquisition method, the aim would be for the U.S. to hold a 50% stake.
On February 3, 2025, Trump signed an executive order to create the first U.S. sovereign wealth fund. On that day, Trump told the media, “We might do something with TikTok, or we might not. If we reach a good deal, we’ll go for it. If not, we won’t. But I have the right to do so. And we might put it in the sovereign wealth fund.”