Kevin O’Leary is putting together a syndicate whose topic of discussion would be the purchase of the TikTok platform, report CNBC. The initial offer that Mr. Kevin O’Leary offers ranges from $20 to $30 billion dollars. That’s about 90% less than the company’s value.
“It’s the largest entertainment and business network in America as it stands today, so it’s of great interest and great value,” said Mr. Kevin O’Leary.
According to data from PitchBook, any deal for the $220 billion platform will result in the exclusion of algorithms that are driven by user preferences. According to the chairman of O’Leary Ventures, it is thanks to these algorithms that the platform is so successful.
“This is the most complex deal ever in social media, and I have to build a new algorithm,” O’Leary shared.
According to Mr. Kevin O’Leary, the Chinese government will not sell the algorithms because of the high value of the company, as well as because the platform is used by 170 million users.
Any potential buyer would need to recreate these algorithms with US code and turn the platform from “TikTok China” to “TikTok USA”. These are the reasons for the decline in the company’s valuation.
The House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill to force ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to give up its position as the leader of the global platform. If the company does not give up its dominant position, the platform will be banned.
There is still no draft law related to TikTok to be debated in the Senate. Additionally, there is no word on whether the Chinese government will allow ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American buyer.
Kevin O’Leary supposes that there is a 50% chance that the Senate will vote to ban the platform, as well as introduce an act to force the sale of the platform early next year after the US presidential election. He prepares and waits for this opportunity.
Any deal to buy the platform would need express Senate approval due to national security reasons.
The Chairman of O’Leary Ventures also said that he is in talks with interested parties who want to join the syndicate to buy the Chinese platform.
Former US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has also said he is interested in the topic of buying TikTok.
