“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary has announced a $20 billion cash offer to purchase TikTok, just minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law requiring the Chinese-owned platform to sell or face a nationwide ban.
“Right now, $20 billion’s on the table. Cash,” O’Leary said Friday during an appearance on America’s Newsroom. He emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which mandates TikTok’s divestment from its parent company, ByteDance, by Sunday night or risk being removed from U.S. app stores and hosting services.
“There’s a reason Congress brought this case to the Supreme Court, and there’s a reason they ruled in favor of it,” O’Leary said. “The obvious solution is to sell TikTok to an American syndicate as per the order.”
O’Leary warned that TikTok would “go dark” at midnight on Sunday if a deal is not reached, adding that service providers supporting the app would face severe penalties. “As of midnight on the 19th, any service provider—whether it’s Apple, Oracle, or a consulting company—keeping this thing alive is subject to a $5,000-per-day fine multiplied by 170 million users. That’s over $1 billion a day,” he explained.
President Trump addressed the issue on Truth Social, stating that his “decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future.” Meanwhile, O’Leary pointed out that the current administration could temporarily delay enforcement. “Unless the company agrees to be purchased by an American syndicate and Biden grants a 90-day waiver, TikTok goes dark at midnight,” he said.
O’Leary called the situation “the most interesting, complicated, crazy scenario I’ve ever been involved in,” expressing optimism about a potential resolution. “The clock is ticking,” he added.
