MrBeast, Roblox CEO Eye $20B TikTok Acquisition

Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as the YouTube sensation MrBeast, has joined forces with a notable group of investors aiming to acquire TikTok for a staggering sum exceeding $20 billion. The investment group, led by Jesse Tinsley of Employer.com, also includes Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley, head of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital. They estimate that a successful bid might require around $25 billion to secure the popular social media platform.

Despite the ambitious plan, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has firmly stated that its U.S. operations are not on the market. The Tinsley-led group has yet to receive a direct response to their proposal. Meanwhile, representatives for MrBeast have indicated that he is engaging with multiple parties and is keen to align with the most promising contender in the race to purchase TikTok. On January 22, Donaldson shared his enthusiasm on Twitter, stating, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking."

Amidst these developments, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Microsoft was in discussions to buy TikTok, expressing a desire for a competitive bidding environment. Microsoft, however, has not officially confirmed these talks.

The urgency of these negotiations was underscored when TikTok was temporarily taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users just before a law was set to go into effect on January 19, mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns or face a ban. The Supreme Court's rejection of TikTok's First Amendment challenge led to the app going dark, but it was soon restored following assurances from Trump that no penalties would be enforced for resuming service. The Supreme Court justified the differential treatment of TikTok citing its scale, potential foreign control, and the extensive sensitive data it collects.

TikTok responded positively to the situation, emphasizing the importance of the First Amendment and their commitment to finding a long-term solution to remain in the U.S. Following his inauguration on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days, signaling ongoing discussions with various entities, including Elon Musk, about the potential acquisition of TikTok.

MrBeast is apparently serious in his bid to buy TikTok. Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images.