TikTok ban: Donald Trump open to extending another olive branch to Chinese company; ‘Lot of interest in…’

US President Donald Trump has signalled his willingness to save the popular short-video app TikTok from another potential ban. Notably, TikTok was briefly taken offline in the US due to a bipartisan law called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. After assuming office, Trump gave the app a 75-day reprieve to comply with the law via an executive order.

The law states that TikTok had to cut ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or be banned in the US. While granting the extension in January, Trump proposed a possible joint venture between TikTok's current and prospective partners, with the US government taking a 50% stake, possibly through a sovereign wealth fund.

Donald Trump on giving extension to TikTok:

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Trump said there was a ‘lot of interest’ in buying TikTok and he would probably not need an extension given that there was still another month left untill the deadline.

“If I needed an extension, I’d probably get it extended,” the US President added.

Donald Trump has reportedly handed the responsibility of seeing a potential sale of TikTok to Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Michael Walz.

Omnivest Financial CEO Reid Rasner turned up as another potential buyer for TikTok as he told NBC on Sunday that the Trump administration reviewed his bid and he is ‘prepared to move forward’ with the offer.

“There’s no holding back. The money isn’t the issue right now, bringing all the pieces together is the issue,” the billionaire informed.

Rasner noted that his team has implemented the Trump administration's recommended adjustments to ensure that the “deal aligns with national security and economic interests.”

Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas has also confirmed putting in a bid for a joint venture for TikTok. Meanwhile, other corporates keen to buy a potential TikTok stake are Microsoft and Oracle.

In a related development, TikTok's parent company ByteDance is offering to buy back shares at a higher valuation than six months ago, per a Reuters report. ByteDance told its U.S.-based employees that it is offering $189.90 per share, which would value ByteDance at around $315 billion.