MrBeast and the CEO of Roblox Are Trying to Buy TikTok for Over $20 Billion

Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as the YouTuber MrBeast, is part of a notable consortium aiming to purchase TikTok. The group, which includes Jesse Tinsley of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley from the crypto platform Anchorage Digital, has reportedly made a bid exceeding $20 billion. They estimate that acquiring TikTok would cost around $25 billion.

However, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has firmly stated that its U.S. operations are not on the market. The investment group led by Tinsley has yet to receive a direct response from ByteDance regarding their offer.

Donaldson's representatives have indicated that he is engaging with multiple parties and is keen to align with the leading bidder, hinting at potential shifts in allegiance as the situation evolves. On January 22, Donaldson took to Twitter to express his enthusiasm: “The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking.”

Earlier this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned that Microsoft was in discussions to acquire TikTok, expressing his desire for a bidding war. Microsoft has not yet confirmed these discussions.

Just before a law came into effect on January 19, which required ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns or face a ban, the app was taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users. This followed the Supreme Court's rejection of TikTok's First Amendment challenge. The court recognized the commonality of data collection in the digital era but emphasized, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns."

Subsequently, TikTok was restored after assurances from Trump that the company would not face penalties for resuming service. TikTok hailed this as a victory for free speech, stating, “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

Following his inauguration on January 20, Trump issued an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is actively negotiating with various entities and individuals, including Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, about the potential acquisition of TikTok.