Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary launches crowdfunding campaign to acquire TikTok
Kevin O'Leary, a star of the reality TV show Shark Tank has expressed interest in acquiring popular social media app TikTok. Known as "Mr. Wonderful," the Canadian-born investor has initiated an online crowdfunding campaign to gauge public support for his endeavor. This move is a response to a recent US law requiring ByteDance, TikTok's parent company based in China, to divest from its US holdings and sell its American-based operations.
O'Leary's crowdfunding strategy
O'Leary has posted an item on the StartEngine crowdfunding site titled "Mr. Wonderful's Plan to Buy TikTok." He describes himself as a "renowned entrepreneur" with a "sharp business acumen," citing the $3.8 billion sale of his software firm The Learning Company as evidence. At this stage, he is not soliciting funds but inviting potential investors to make non-binding reservations, with plans to inform them when the offering launches.
Views on TikTok's market value
In a conversation with Fox News in March, O'Leary stated that he would either buy TikTok or join a syndicate planning to purchase it. He highlighted the app's significant user base and revenue, stating that TikTok, with over one billion monthly active users worldwide and $16 billion in US revenue annually, is "worth billions." The latest offering by StartEngine is termed as a "Regulation A+ Test the Waters" offering and is open to the public.
Other businessmen also eyeing acquisition
O'Leary is not the only one interested in acquiring TikTok. Other US-based businessmen, including Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, and Steve Mnuchin, former Treasury Secretary under President Donald Trump, have reportedly discussed buying the app. In 2020, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison attempted to buy a stake in TikTok's US operations with Walmart but was unsuccessful.
ByteDance's reluctance to sell TikTok
ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, may prefer shutting down the app rather than selling it if all legal options are exhausted in its fight against the recently enacted law. Insiders close to ByteDance told Reuters that TikTok's algorithms are integral to the parent company's overall operations, making a sale highly unlikely. They further noted that separating these algorithms from TikTok's US assets would be an extremely complicated procedure that ByteDance is unlikely to consider.
