“Shark Tank” co-star Kevin O’Leary teases his plan for his attempt to buy TikTok Tuesday on Fox Business, noting that he talked to former President Donald Trump about the potential deal.
O’Leary appeared on “Kudlow” to discuss what his potential plan would be if he can buy the massive social media platform TikTok. This plan is dependent on whether the Senate passes a bill that forces Beijing-based ByteDance to sell the app to continue its use in the United States. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: The Pentagon Is Paying A Chinese Communist Party-Linked Venture Capital Firm For Tutoring Services)
“I’d argue this is going to be a competition, but it’s not worth 100 billion because the Chinese are unlikely to sell the algorithm that gives you the data,” O’Leary said. “Here’s the stacks of value, Larry – very simple. You’ve got the brand of TikTok, a great brand that [has] 170 million eyeballs, you got 5 million businesses, – those are my Shark Tank guys in their 20s 30s and 40s – 85% of the people on TikTok know who I am. I think you need a steward to tell them a simple message. I’ll guarantee you that if I buy this asset, the day I switch over, I will turn TikTok China into TikTok USA. I’ll bring in an American team, I’ll shut down these Chinese backdoors.”
“They’re going to sell it – just the names in a database sitting on Oracle servers, maybe in Texas – we got to find out where these servers are – [and] the brand,” he continued. “They’re not going to sell the algorithms. And so what’s that worth? I start the bidding at 30 billion. It’s a fire sale if you don’t get the algorithms because you have no history of these people’s purchase behavior.”
O’Leary went on to say that in addition to lowering the deal, he also believes it will require “cooperation” from the White House. The businessman said he discussed the plan with Trump to get ahead on working with the potential president who has notably been against the social media platform due to its foreign influence.
“I’m going to take a different tact. I’ll bring a great team to rewrite those algorithms, but I need it reflected in the value. But also the transition – look what happened on Twitter,” O’Leary said. “Started a $44 billion debt and equity deal, it’s now worth 12 to 16. When you mess with the algorithms, you can lose a lot of growth. You can lose a lot of people and that happened in the case of Twitter. It stopped growing. I can’t have that happen on my watch. So I’ll bring a great team, but look it’s not just about being a great banker.”
“I actually think this deal is going to require cooperation with the White House, who’s ever in it. And so I’ve taken a little initiative and I’ve started calling. I don’t know who’s gonna win. I’m very fortunate. I talked to Trump yesterday just about TikTok. I asked him if I want support on this deal,” O’Leary added.
“He’s in favor of the sale, isn’t he?” Kudlow questioned.
“Not – listen, he doesn’t know what the Senate’s going to do. Nobody knows what the Senate’s going to do,” O’Leary stated.
“But he’d like ByteDance to sell TikTok?” Kudlow asked.
“He would because he’s already – it’s not for me,” O’Leary stated. “I’ll do the same thing with Biden’s team. I need both of these [potential] White Houses – I’m bipartisan on this. I don’t know who’s gonna win, 50/50. I just want to know will you work with me if I bring the capital and I bring the management and I guarantee you the national security issue is gone. I’ll guarantee you that. And I’ll make that part of the deal. You’re going to need the White House on board, Larry, who’s ever in it. Might as well start talking to both of them.”
O’Leary expressed his interest in purchasing the app on March 8 during a Fox News interview. While President Biden said he would sign the bill if it made its way to his desk, Trump has appeared more apprehensive about the potential legislation. The former president took to Truth Social, stating his concerns with the bill were that it would benefit Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook.