Trump to announce buyer for TikTok’s US operations

President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday there is a “buyer for TikTok,” teasing an announcement to come in “about two weeks.”

“We have a buyer for TikTok by the way. I think I’ll need probably China approval, and I think President Xi will probably do it,” the president said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

Asked who the buyer is going to be, Trump said, “I’ll tell you in about two weeks.”

“It’s a group of very wealthy people,” the president added.

Trump has instead signed three orders delaying enforcement on the ban. As a June 19 deadline to enforce the sale-or-ban law approached, Trump granted TikTok a 90-day extension. The deadline for its parent company, ByteDance, to hand over control of TikTok’s US operations is now September 17.

Negotiations to acquire the app's operations stalled

Congress passed a law last year requiring the company to divest, citing national security concerns. The law allows the president to grant one extension.

Negotiations over the deal have largely stalled as broader tensions over tariff negotiations have engulfed trade relations between the United States and China.

Before Trump announced sweeping tariffs in April, the deal was reportedly close to completion, involving a consortium of US investors including Oracle Corp, Blackstone Inc, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The White House did not respond to a request for further details on Trump's latest remarks.