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 1 year 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

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

DON'T MISS

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

DON'T MISS

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

DON'T MISS

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

DON'T MISS

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

DON'T MISS

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Faces Life in Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

DON'T MISS

Tiger’s Son, Charlie Woods, Wins Team TaylorMade Invitational in Claiming 1st AJGA Event

UP NEXT

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

UP NEXT

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

UP NEXT

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

UP NEXT

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

UP NEXT

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

UP NEXT

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

UP NEXT

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Faces Life in Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

UP NEXT

Tiger’s Son, Charlie Woods, Wins Team TaylorMade Invitational in Claiming 1st AJGA Event

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: The Human Side of Law Enforcement

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

11 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

11 hours ago

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

11 hours ago

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

11 hours ago

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

13 hours ago

Fresno Man Faces Life in Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

13 hours ago

Tiger’s Son, Charlie Woods, Wins Team TaylorMade Invitational in Claiming 1st AJGA Event

13 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: The Human Side of Law Enforcement

13 hours ago

CIF Expands Field, Changes Medal Rules for State Track Championships Amid Trump Pushback

14 hours ago

Get Ready for Several Years of Killer Heat, Top Weather Forecasters Warn

15 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and ov...

10 hours ago

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
10 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

11 hours ago

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

11 hours ago

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

11 hours ago

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

11 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
11 hours ago

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
11 hours ago

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

13 hours ago

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

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

Search

Send this to a friend