Donald Trump will consider a “final proposal” over the sale of TikTok’s US operations on Wednesday, according to reports, as a Saturday deadline looms for the Chinese-controlled app to find a buyer.
The White House is finalising plans for a deal involving US investors, possibly including the tech firm Oracle and the private equity firm Blackstone, CBS News reported.
TikTok’s parent, the Beijing-based ByteDance, has until 5 April to sell the app’s US unit or be banned in the country, under an executive order signed by the US president.
The potential transaction, which is reportedly a “final proposal”, will involve new investors such as Blackstone joining existing non-Chinese shareholders in ByteDance in providing fresh capital to bid for the business, Reuters reported.
The US vice-president, JD Vance, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday to discuss the issue, Reuters reported.
In the closely watched sale of TikTok, the White House is playing the role of an investment bank, with Vance running the auction.
ByteDance’s existing non-Chinese shareholders are led by the US trading firm Susquehanna International Group and the private equity firm General Atlantic.
On Sunday, Trump said a deal with ByteDance to sell the short-video app used by 170 million Americans would be struck before Saturday’s deadline. “We have a lot of potential buyers,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “There’s tremendous interest in TikTok.” He added: “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
Trump is preparing to announce global tariffs on what he has called “liberation day” on Wednesday. Last week, he said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a TikTok deal done.
Trump set the deadline in January for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban on national security grounds, due to have taken effect that month under a 2024 law.
The US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is also in discussions to invest in TikTok as part of the deal, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
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The talks on TikTok’s future are coalescing around a plan for the biggest non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to raise their stakes and acquire the short-video app’s US operations, Reuters reported last month.
Trump said last month his administration was in touch with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal, without identifying them.
TikTok, Blackstone, Oracle and Andreessen Horowitz have been approached for comment.
