AppLovin, a U.S.-based marketing platform, announced on Thursday that it has submitted a preliminary bid to acquire TikTok's assets
outside of China. The move comes as the deadline set by President Donald Trump—April 5—rapidly approaches. Under a 2024 law passed with broad bipartisan support, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is required to divest its ownership of the popular video-sharing app, which is used by 170 million Americans.
In a regulatory filing, AppLovin stated that the proposal is still in its early stages and that there’s no certainty a deal will be finalized. TikTok has not yet responded to requests for comment, and the field of potential buyers continues to grow as the deadline nears.
Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, noted that acquiring TikTok could significantly boost AppLovin’s ambitions of becoming a global advertising leader. However, he cautioned that regulatory hurdles and geopolitical factors would play a major role in the outcome, particularly given the ongoing scrutiny over TikTok’s alleged ties to the Chinese government—a claim that both ByteDance and TikTok have consistently denied.
President Trump previously stated that his administration had been in discussions with four different groups regarding the sale, though he did not disclose their identities. Notably, the White House has taken an unusually active role in the negotiations, acting much like an investment bank in overseeing and influencing the deal process.
Trump has also floated the idea of approving a TikTok deal in which China would allow the sale in return for concessions such as reduced U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. In the meantime, private equity firm Blackstone is reportedly considering joining ByteDance’s non-Chinese investors including Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic—to inject new capital into a bid for TikTok’s U.S. business.
TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain. The app briefly went offline just before the original divestment deadline of January 19. Upon taking office for his second term on January 20, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the divestment law by 75 days, temporarily allowing TikTok to continue operations in the country while a resolution is sought.
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