‘Shark Tank’s’ Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt want to buy TikTok
CNNNew York CNN — A group formed by billionaire entrepreneur and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has made a formal offer to buy TikTok from its China-based parent company, ByteDance. The group, which calls itself The People’s Bid for TikTok and is also backed by “Shark Tank”-famous investor Kevin O’Leary, said Thursday it had delivered a proposal to ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US assets. In a filing to the Supreme Court — which argues that the law would violate the first amendment rights of the platform and its users — the company said the law “will take effect on January 19, 2025, shutting down TikTok for its more than 170 million monthly American users.” TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the McCourt group’s bid. “We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done.” But many users and social media experts have questioned whether a sale that excludes the algorithm could be successful, given that the technology that decides what users see on their “For You” feeds is a major reason for the app’s popularity.