Trump says 4 bidders in play for TikTok’s US business in deal expected ‘soon’

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was negotiating with four different possible buyers for TikTok’s operations in America and that a deal for the social video app could come “soon”.

“We’re dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. He did not specify the contenders nor say which way he was leaning, instead saying “all four are good”.

ByteDance-owned TikTok faces a deadline of April 5 to strike a deal for its US operations – or be banned from the country under a bipartisan law passed during the Biden administration.

The US is by far the popular short video platform’s most important market – ByteDance operates a sister service, Douyin, in mainland China – and TikTok US was estimated to be worth as much as US$50 billion last year.

Last week, Trump said he would be open to extending the deadline again if necessary, but thought a deal was possible in the next month.

Trump already pushed back the initial January 19 deadline, averting a prolonged TikTok blackout, and has repeatedly signalled he is open to striking a deal. As he has tried to broker a sale, the president said he believes the US should be granted a 50 per cent stake in the company as a condition.