i have a theory about why it's taking so long for a deal to be solidified. it's because there are simply too many bidders.
today marks 2 weeks since tiktok was banned in the US. however, one of trump's campaign promises was that he would save tiktok. indeed, while they previously refused to even hear a deal, both bytedance and china has changed their tone and are willing to work things out. one of trump's day one executive orders was placing a 75 day extension on tiktok so that a deal can be made.
over the course of the past 2 weeks, there has been quite a bit of progress made. numerous bidders have emerged and both trump and a representative from bytedance said that a deal is in the works.
however, it's now been 2 weeks and tiktok is still not back on the app store. content creators, including myself, are wondering what's taking so long since the high number of bidders and a proposed 50/50 split should make the process go by faster.
well, i have a theory. it's BECAUSE of the amount of bidders.
there are currently a whopping 7 bidders. elon musk, microsoft, perplexity AI, oracle, mr beast, kevin o leary, and steven mnuchin. and keep in mind, there could certainly be more bidders coming. all of these bidders are looking to increase their wealth by acquiring tiktok, which is the most downloaded app in the world and has a net worth of 100 billion dollars. acquiring this juggernaut of social media will turn these billionaires into trillionaires. as such, it makes sense why they are leaping at the chance to increase their wealth.
sadly, this is simply a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. with all of these bidders, the negotiations process is slowing because there are so many options for who to turn to. a while ago, i proposed that the american people should pool together a billion dollars so that we can buy tiktok. well, i no longer think that because the last thing that we need is another bidder overcomplicating things further.
right now, all we can really do is stay patient and continue living our lives. a watched pot never boils.
