Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is assembling investors to buy TikTok
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Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s interested in pulling together a group of investors to buy TikTok.
“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s Squawk Box Thursday morning. “It’s a great business, and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok.”
“This should be owned by U.S. businesses. There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this in China,” Mnuchin, who served as the secretary of the treasury under former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021, added.
The House passed a bill on Wednesday that could lead to a nationwide ban against TikTok if its China-based owner does not divest TikTok within six months of the bill’s enactment. Dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the legislation was approved in a bipartisan effort of 352 to 65. Lawmakers say the popular social video app presents national security risks. The bill now heads to the Senate, where the chamber appears to be divided on the measure.
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, said on Wednesday the company will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban after the bill sailed through the House.
If ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, does put the company on the market, the video platform would be a significant expense.
TikTok had held the title of the most downloaded app globally from 2018 to 2022, but Instagram recently took over, the Guardian reports. The app has upward of 170 million American users, many of whom are under 30. Its large U.S.-based audience means TikTok could be valued at more than $180 billion, according to the Financial Times.
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Obvious potential buyers include Meta, the owner of Instagram, but that would likely lead to strong antitrust opposition. Apple and Amazon are other tech giants that might be interested in an acquisition.
The Washington Examiner reached out to TikTok for comment.