TikTok Ban: Steven Mnuchin Joins List of Potential Buyers

The list of potential buyers for TikTok is swelling rapidly. According to the Wall Street Journal, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is cobbling together a consortium to acquire TikTok. Mnuchin’s move comes on the heels of the House of Representatives passing a ban or sale bill on TikTok.

However, Mnuchin is not alone. Earlier, Rumble’s (NASDAQ:RUM) CEO, Chris Pavlovski, noted that the video-sharing platform was open to teaming up with potential buyers to acquire TikTok. Activision Blizzard’s former CEO, Bobby Kotick, has also shown interest in teaming up with potential partners to snap up TikTok.

Who Will Buy TikTok?

One key theme here is multiple parties teaming up to acquire TikTok. With nearly 170 million users in the U.S., the app commands a valuation in the tens of billions of dollars, highlighting the necessity for potential buyers to possess significant financial resources. As for larger names such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta (NASDAQ:META), or Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), they are more likely to step into antitrust minefields if they look to acquire TikTok.

In previous attempts to ban TikTok, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) were involved in potential acquisition discussions. However, these plans never materialized.

Will TikTok Get Banned?

As of now, the likelihood of a ban or divestment remains uncertain. China has expressed displeasure with the situation, alleging that the U.S. is suppressing rules-based competition. Furthermore, the bill’s prospects in the Senate are unclear. TikTok, on the other hand, appears to be gearing up for a potentially lengthy legal battle before considering severing ties with ByteDance.

Is Google a Good Buy Right Now?

While TikTok’s final destination is yet to be decided upon, the TipRanks Comparison Tool indicates the highest upside potential of 14.7% in GOOGL shares among the names on our radar today. 

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