Montreal-born Kevin O’Leary wants to get his hands on TikTok’s American activities in order to prevent the popular application from being banned in the United States.
The investor in Shark Tank, the American version of Eye of the Dragon, is teaming up with American businessman Frank McCourt in what he calls “the people’s bid for TikTok”.
Frank McCourt made his fortune in real estate in Boston. He is also the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the MLB baseball team that he sold for US$2 billion in 2012.
Kevin O’Leary, whose self-proclaimed nickname is Mr. Merveilleux, is originally from Montreal, but does not speak French. Known for his investments, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2017, before withdrawing and supporting Maxime Bernier.
300 milliards $US
On Monday on X, O’Leary announced that he now wants to buy TikTok, at least the service’s U.S. operations.
The Chinese application has 170 million monthly users in the United States and its activities in this country could cost the buyer up to US$300 billion ($430 billion), according to observers.
This offer comes as TikTok approaches a fateful date. The application will be banned in the United States on January 19, unless the company’s parent company, Bytedance, based in Beijing, finds a buyer for its American activities.
This ban was mentioned during Donald Trump’s first term as president. It was finally adopted by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden last April.
American lawmakers are concerned about espionage activities that the Chinese government would carry out through the application.
Donald Trump, who will begin his second term in the White House on January 20, has since changed his mind on the ban. He indicated in December that he wants to keep TikTok in the United States.
On Monday, on Fox News, O’Leary asked the president-elect for help in getting his purchase offer accepted.
“Mr. Trump will be the person we have to work with to get the deal done in the months to come.” So I wanted to let him and other members of his cabinet know that we are doing this and we will need their help,” the businessman said.
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