Trump says buyer found for TikTok

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump says a group of “very wealthy people” is ready to buy TikTok, but the deal will require China’s sign-off—despite looming deadlines under U.S. law.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has found a buyer for TikTok, describing the group as “very wealthy people,” though he declined to name them, promising to reveal their identities in about two weeks.

Speaking in a Fox News interview, Trump said the deal would likely require approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping and expressed confidence that China would support it.

A 2024 U.S. law required TikTok to cease operations by 19 January unless its parent company, ByteDance, completes the divestment of the app’s U.S. assets or shows significant progress toward a sale.

Trump, who credits TikTok with helping him gain support among young voters in last November’s election, has extended the deadline three times—most recently to 17 September.

A deal had been in development earlier this year to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a separate company controlled by American investors. However, it was put on hold after China signalled it would block the move in response to Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.

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