MrBeast, Roblox CEO Aim to Acquire TikTok for Over $20 Billion

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the YouTuber MrBeast, is part of an investment group that is reportedly attempting to purchase TikTok with a bid exceeding $20 billion. According to Bloomberg, Donaldson has teamed up with Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley, the head of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital, in this ambitious endeavor. The group estimates that it will take approximately $25 billion to successfully acquire the social media giant.

Despite their efforts, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has stated that its U.S. business is not for sale. The investment group led by Tinsley has acknowledged that they have yet to receive a direct response from ByteDance.

Representatives for Donaldson have indicated that he is currently in discussions with several parties and is keen on joining the eventual front-runner. Depending on the outcome, he may switch alliances. On January 22, Donaldson tweeted, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok 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 buy TikTok and expressed his desire to see a bidding war for the app. Microsoft has yet to confirm these claims.

TikTok faced a significant challenge when it was taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users just before a law came into effect on January 19, which required ByteDance to sell TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban. The app was taken offline after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal following TikTok's First Amendment challenge. The justices noted that while data collection is a common practice, "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."

However, TikTok was able to come back online after assurances from Trump that the company would not face penalties for restoring service. TikTok stated at the time, "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."

After taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is currently in talks with various companies and individuals regarding a potential buyout of TikTok, and has expressed openness to Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, taking control.