Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Billionaire Frank McCourt Assembles Consortium to Acquire TikTok
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 months ago on
May 15, 2024

Billionaire Frank McCourt is forming a consortium to bid for TikTok's U.S. operations, aiming to enhance user control over data, amid investor interest and ongoing legal challenges against a federal mandate for ByteDance to divest the platform. (AP File/GV Wire Composite)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt said he’s putting together a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business, adding to the number of investors hoping to benefit from a new federal law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the popular platform or face a ban.

The announcement, made Wednesday, said the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers was organizing the bid in consultation with the investment bank Guggenheim Securities and “with the goal of placing people and data empowerment at the center of the platform’s design and purpose.”

If a sale occurs, McCourt said he would plan to restructure TikTok and give more agency to people “over their digital identities and data” by migrating the platform to an open-source protocol that allows for more transparency.

Other investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed a desire to purchase TikTok. However, parent company ByteDance has already said it does not plan to sell the platform. The Chinese government is also unlikely to approve a sale – especially not one that includes the recommendation engine that powers the videos that populates users’ feeds.

TikToker Lawsuit

Last week, ByteDance and TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government to block the law from going into effect. On Tuesday, eight TikTok creators filed their own challenge, arguing the law violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.

The company also has been waging a legal battle in Montana to block a state law that would ban the video-sharing platform.

On Tuesday, TikTok, Montana users and the state of Montana agreed to put a stay on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban while the federal lawsuits are decided.

Montana’s law, which was temporarily blocked before it could take effect on Jan. 1, would be nullified if a company that is not based in a country designated as a foreign adversary acquires TikTok.

McCourt is worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. He sold the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012 to Guggenheim Baseball Management. In 2016, he bought the French soccer club Marseille.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

New California Voter ID Ban Puts Conservative Cities at Odds With State

DON'T MISS

Big Lots Holds Going-Out-of-Business Sales After Deal to Save Company Fails

DON'T MISS

University of California Campuses Resolve Discrimination Complaints Stemming From Gaza Protests

DON'T MISS

The Latest: House Approves New Government Funding Bill

DON'T MISS

Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Jets’ Aaron Rodgers Collide in Matchup of Familiar Foes

DON'T MISS

‘Embarrassing’ Night for Stephen Curry in 51-Point Loss at Memphis

DON'T MISS

Another Record for LeBron James in Lakers’ Win Over Kings

DON'T MISS

Meet Amy Allen, the Songwriter Behind the Music Stuck in Your Head

DON'T MISS

Netflix Signs US Broadcast Deal With FIFA for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031

DON'T MISS

Clovis Residents Can Draw the City’s Next Election Map

UP NEXT

Big Lots Holds Going-Out-of-Business Sales After Deal to Save Company Fails

UP NEXT

University of California Campuses Resolve Discrimination Complaints Stemming From Gaza Protests

UP NEXT

The Latest: House Approves New Government Funding Bill

UP NEXT

Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Jets’ Aaron Rodgers Collide in Matchup of Familiar Foes

UP NEXT

‘Embarrassing’ Night for Stephen Curry in 51-Point Loss at Memphis

UP NEXT

Another Record for LeBron James in Lakers’ Win Over Kings

UP NEXT

Meet Amy Allen, the Songwriter Behind the Music Stuck in Your Head

UP NEXT

Netflix Signs US Broadcast Deal With FIFA for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031

UP NEXT

Clovis Residents Can Draw the City’s Next Election Map

UP NEXT

All Netflix Wants for Christmas Is No Streaming Problems for Its First NFL Games

The Latest: House Approves New Government Funding Bill

13 hours ago

Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Jets’ Aaron Rodgers Collide in Matchup of Familiar Foes

15 hours ago

‘Embarrassing’ Night for Stephen Curry in 51-Point Loss at Memphis

15 hours ago

Another Record for LeBron James in Lakers’ Win Over Kings

15 hours ago

Meet Amy Allen, the Songwriter Behind the Music Stuck in Your Head

15 hours ago

Netflix Signs US Broadcast Deal With FIFA for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031

15 hours ago

Clovis Residents Can Draw the City’s Next Election Map

15 hours ago

All Netflix Wants for Christmas Is No Streaming Problems for Its First NFL Games

15 hours ago

Tax Loopholes Cost California and Its Cities $107 Billion but Get Little Scrutiny

16 hours ago

Fresno County Driver Escapes Injury After Falling Asleep, Overturning Vehicle

16 hours ago

New California Voter ID Ban Puts Conservative Cities at Odds With State

California has become the latest battleground over voter identification requirements, a longtime conservative priority newly propelled in re...

45 minutes ago

45 minutes ago

New California Voter ID Ban Puts Conservative Cities at Odds With State

12 hours ago

Big Lots Holds Going-Out-of-Business Sales After Deal to Save Company Fails

12 hours ago

University of California Campuses Resolve Discrimination Complaints Stemming From Gaza Protests

13 hours ago

The Latest: House Approves New Government Funding Bill

Rams
15 hours ago

Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Jets’ Aaron Rodgers Collide in Matchup of Familiar Foes

15 hours ago

‘Embarrassing’ Night for Stephen Curry in 51-Point Loss at Memphis

15 hours ago

Another Record for LeBron James in Lakers’ Win Over Kings

15 hours ago

Meet Amy Allen, the Songwriter Behind the Music Stuck in Your Head

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend