Frank McCourt, a prominent U.S. businessman, indicated that he is keen on potentially partnering with other investors to acquire TikTok’s American operations, provided he can retain control over the asset. He made these comments to Reuters during the Davos conference on Thursday.

The billionaire did not elaborate on how he plans to finance the acquisition but mentioned that private equity firms and family offices have approached him with various proposals.

“Capital isn’t the problem here; the challenge lies in waiting for ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, or the Chinese government to decide on the app’s future in the U.S.,” stated McCourt, who spoke on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

His adaptable approach to the well-publicized bid emerged shortly after former President Donald Trump signed an executive order that postpones the enforcement of a ban on the widely-used app for an additional 75 days.

This week, Trump also expressed a desire for the U.S. to hold a 50% stake in a joint venture involving TikTok and indicated openness to billionaire investors like Elon Musk or Larry Ellison of Oracle potentially acquiring the platform.

In early January, McCourt’s organization, Project Liberty, submitted a proposal to purchase TikTok’s U.S. assets. They intend to operate the app using technology designed to allow users to control their data usage and sharing. Despite TikTok’s legal attempts to challenge the U.S. ban, the Supreme Court upheld the decision last week.

Potential Buyers

The opportunity to own one of the globe’s leading video-sharing platforms, or at least its U.S. segment, has attracted a growing list of interested parties from finance, technology, and entertainment sectors.

Since the proposal of a ban under President Joe Biden’s administration, many figures close to Trump have surfaced in connection with TikTok. In March, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed his efforts to assemble a group of investors for a bid on the app.

Other interested parties include the CEO of Kingdom Holding, an investment firm owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who had previously invested significantly in Twitter, as well as a group of U.S. investors including Jimmy Donaldson, known as “MrBeast” online.

However, it remains unclear what exactly is up for grabs, especially with potential bidders yet to clarify how they would fund such a deal.

Current TikTok investors have shown willingness to roll over part or all of their shares into the deal, according to McCourt, which could reduce the capital requirement for a purchase estimated at $20 billion, excluding TikTok’s key algorithm.

Endorsement

In a recent discussion with the U.S. House of Representatives’ select committee on China, McCourt, along with his co-bidder Kevin O’Leary, received confirmation from lawmakers across the political spectrum that they are committed to a qualified divestiture.

“I left with a strong impression that Congress is unified in enforcing legislation that would either ban or require the sale of U.S. TikTok,” McCourt noted.

For McCourt, who stated he has never used TikTok, what draws him to the app are its users, data, and brand name. His proposal does not aim to acquire TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, which is crucial to its success.

He envisions transferring TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users to the Project Liberty platform, leveraging digital infrastructure based in the U.S., and believes this migration could be achieved within a year if an agreement is finalized.

McCourt mentioned he is open to various financial arrangements for ownership, provided he can maintain control and facilitate the movement of TikTok users to the infrastructure created by Project Liberty.

“This is not solely about who offers the highest bid,” he stated. “It’s also about meeting the stringent criteria set out in the legislation, which was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.”

Reporting by Krystal Hu in Davos, Switzerland; Additional Reporting by David French in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis