The clock is ticking, and honestly, it’s a bit of a disaster. If you've been scrolling through your For You Page lately, you probably aren't thinking about divestiture mandates or the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. You're probably just watching a recipe for baked feta or a guy explaining why the Roman Empire is still relevant. But behind the scenes, the question of who is going to buy TikTok has turned into a high-stakes game of poker where the pot is worth roughly $100 billion and the cards are mostly made of government red tape.
It’s weird.
Normally, when a massive company goes up for sale, there’s a line of hungry CEOs out the door with checkbooks open. This is different. This isn't a voluntary sale; it’s a forced marriage or an execution, depending on who you ask. ByteDance, the parent company based in Beijing, has been told by the U.S. government that it has to sell the American arm of the app or face a total ban.
But here is the kicker: China has basically said they won’t allow the "secret sauce"—the recommendation algorithm—to be part of the deal.
So, imagine buying a Ferrari, but the seller gets to keep the engine. You’re left with a very expensive, very pretty, red metal box. That’s the reality facing anyone asking who is going to buy TikTok in 2026. Without that algorithm, is TikTok even TikTok?
The Names on the Shortlist (And Why They’re Hesitating)
Steven Mnuchin is the name that keeps popping up. The former Treasury Secretary has been vocal about putting together an investor group to acquire the platform. He’s been out there pitching it as a way to rebuild the tech with "U.S.-built code." It sounds great on a pitch deck. In reality? It’s a massive technical nightmare. You can't just "rebuild" an algorithm that has been refined by billions of data points over several years in a weekend.
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Then you have the wild cards.
Frank McCourt, the billionaire former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, threw his hat in the ring with his "Project Liberty." He wants to turn TikTok into a decentralized, open-source protocol where users own their data. It’s a noble idea. It’s also incredibly expensive and would fundamentally change what the app is. Most people on TikTok don't care about blockchain data sovereignty; they just want to see the next dance trend.
Big Tech is mostly sitting this one out.
- Microsoft: They tried back in 2020. They got burned. Satya Nadella has famously called it the "strangest thing I’ve ever worked on."
- Oracle: They already host TikTok’s U.S. data (Project Texas). They’re the "trusted technology partner," but buying the whole thing is a different level of antitrust scrutiny they probably don't want.
- Google and Meta: Forget it. The Department of Justice would have a heart attack before the ink even dried on the contract.
Why the Algorithm is the Ultimate Dealbreaker
When we talk about who is going to buy TikTok, we have to talk about the Export Control List. The Chinese government updated its rules a while back to ensure that "personalized information recommendation services" cannot be exported without a license.
They aren't handing over the keys.
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This creates a massive valuation gap. If TikTok comes with the algorithm, it’s worth $100 billion or more. If it’s just the brand, the user base, and a "blank" app structure? The price drops through the floor. Bobby Kotick, the former Activision Blizzard CEO, was reportedly sniffing around the deal, but even for a guy used to big swings, this is a gamble.
The Legal Hail Mary
TikTok isn't going down without a fight. They’ve sued the U.S. government, arguing that a ban violates the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans. They have a point. Courts in the U.S. generally don't like it when the government tells people what apps they can use to express themselves.
But the government is leaning hard on "national security." They claim the data collection poses a risk. ByteDance says they’ve spent $1.5 billion on Project Texas to wall off U.S. data.
It’s a stalemate.
If the courts rule in favor of the government, the pressure on who is going to buy TikTok becomes an absolute frenzy. We might see a "consortium" of private equity firms—think Blackstone or Carlyle Group—teaming up with a media giant like Comcast or even Walmart (who tried to buy a stake previously).
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What This Means for You (The Actionable Part)
If you are a creator or a business owner relying on TikTok, sitting around wondering who is going to buy TikTok isn't a strategy. It’s a risk. The platform's future is genuinely uncertain for the first time since it launched.
You need to diversify. Now.
Don't wait for the ban or the sale.
- Export your data. Use the "Download your data" tool in TikTok settings to keep a record of your followers and content.
- Migrate your audience. Start pushing your followers to a newsletter or a platform you actually control.
- Cross-post religiously. YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are the obvious lifeboats. Use them.
The most likely outcome? A long, drawn-out legal battle that keeps the status quo for another year or two. But if a sale does happen, expect a "TikTok Light" version that might feel a lot more like every other social media app once the original algorithm is stripped away. The era of the "magic" feed might be coming to an end, regardless of who writes the check.
Keep an eye on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. That’s where the real answer to who is going to buy TikTok will actually be decided, not in a boardroom in Silicon Valley.