Billionaire Frank McCourt said Wednesday (January 22) that his Project Liberty consortium, which has bid to acquire TikTok, is open to sharing ownership of the app, provided it is hosted on technology developed by his nonprofit.
“I’m okay with whatever is legal… and what the U.S. government is okay with,” McCourt said in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
His comments follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion last week that the U.S. should have a “50% ownership position in a joint venture” with TikTok.
Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest its TikTok ownership or face a potential ban. With TikTok failing to meet the Sunday deadline to sell, the app was removed from U.S. app stores and temporarily shut down for American users.
However, TikTok resumed some services on Sunday after Trump indicated he would sign an executive order delaying a federal ban, which he did on Monday.
The executive order grants TikTok an additional 75 days to continue operations.
Amid the uncertainty, McCourt expressed his openness to any commercial agreement, including a 50% stake, rather than seeking full ownership.
“I’m not going to be the decision maker there. You know, this is President Trump’s deal now it’s in his … administration, and you know, it will all get sorted out,” McCourt said.
“We’re not flexible about the values and principles of Project Liberty, right?” he added. “We’re totally flexible about commercial arrangements, as long as they abide by the law.”
Project Liberty is leading a consortium of investors in a bid for TikTok, known as the People’s Bid for TikTok, though other potential buyers are emerging.
On Tuesday, Trump mentioned he’d be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok, following reports that the Chinese government might consider a plan involving Musk. Meanwhile, YouTube star MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) and a group of investors are also preparing a bid, with his lawyer confirming the move to various media outlets this week.
