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MrBeast not quite in the bidding race for TikTok just yet, rep says

TECH

MrBeast not quite in the bidding race for TikTok just yet, rep says
TECH

TECH

MrBeast not quite in the bidding race for TikTok just yet, rep says

2025-01-23 01:12 Last Updated At:01:20

Jimmy Donaldson — better known online as MrBeast — isn't in the TikTok bidding race just yet, according to a representative for the YouTube star.

Donaldson stirred interest in a Jan. 13 post on X saying he’d “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.” The next day, Donaldson added, “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

That seemed all the more certain this week when Donaldson was named in reports related to an investor group looking to buy the TikTok's U.S. operations in an all-cash offer, led by Recruiter.com Ventures founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley. A Monday post on X from Tinsley and a Tuesday announcement from Paul Hastings LLP, a law firm that says it’s advising the group, both identified MrBeast as being part of this effort.

But, contrary to Tuesday night reports, MrBeast spokesperson Matthew Hiltzik said Donaldson hasn’t officially joined any bids.

“Several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy,” Hiltzik told The Associated Press Wednesday. “He has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”

Beyond the question of whether Donaldson will be involved, how successful this group's offer will be has yet to be seen, and a dollar amount for its offer is still unknown. A representative for Tinsley declined to comment when asked for further details on Tuesday. The person also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday about why Donaldson was named by Tinsley as a participant.

TikTok's future in the U.S. continues to be uncertain. Under a federal law upheld by the Supreme Court last week, TikTok was supposed to find an approved buyer for its U.S. operations by Jan. 19 or face a nationwide ban. The platform shut off access for U.S. users late Saturday, hours before that deadline, but came back online Sunday with a message crediting then-incoming President Donald Trump, who had vowed to stall the ban.

Trump has said he has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok, which he credits with helping him win more young voters during last year's presidential election. During his first term, he attempted to ban the platform, calling it a national security threat because of its connections with China.

Shortly after taking office on Monday, Trump directed the Justice Department to pause enforcement of the TikTok ban until early April. He also said he is looking to have the U.S. government broker a deal for 50% control of TikTok, adding that “every rich person” has called him about acquiring the social media platform.

On Tuesday, Trump added he’d be open to a purchase of TikTok by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and tech titan Elon Musk, who contributed roughly $200 million to a super political action committee that worked to organize Trump support last fall. However, Ellison and Musk have not indicated that they want to buy TikTok.

Several other investors — such as billionaire Frank McCourt and Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — have publicly expressed their interest in purchasing the popular app. Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has also submitted a proposal to TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok's U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A consortium launched by McCourt has offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for the platform, according to “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian investor who also joined that effort. On Tuesday, O’Leary told CNBC that he’s still interested in the platform, but believed that the law, which required ByteDance to divest by Sunday, would prevent it.

“What we need is to go back and ask Congress to open the order and provide for these new options, because they’re not provided for right now,” CNBC quoted him as saying.

After the bipartisan TikTok law was signed by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance said it did not have plans to sell the platform and fought the statute in court for months. China also rebuked Washington over the divestment push, though more recently it appears to be softening its stance.

In media interviews this week, Bill Ford, the chairman of the global investing firm General Atlantic and a ByteDance board member, said the company is prepared to engage with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a solution that keeps TikTok available. Representatives for ByteDance and TikTok did not respond to emails seeking comment.

FILE - Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTube video maker who goes by MrBeast, wears a Lionel Messi jersey as he stands in a sideline box at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and CF Montreal Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

FILE - Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTube video maker who goes by MrBeast, wears a Lionel Messi jersey as he stands in a sideline box at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and CF Montreal Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

The TikTok app logo is shown on an iPhone on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The TikTok app logo is shown on an iPhone on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Monday, as investors found bargains despite worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 finished little changed, rising less than 0.1% to 38,801.17. The Japanese government reported a record current account surplus last year of 29 trillion yen ($191 billion), underlining strong returns on overseas investments, boosted by a weak yen and recovering Japanese exports.

The current account data, seen as a wide indicator for trade, grew nearly 30% from the previous year, to its highest since comparable records started being kept in 1985.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 151.85 Japanese yen from 151.39 yen. The euro cost $1.0322, down from $1.0328.

The Hang Seng index jumped 1.6% to 21,474.18, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.6% to 3,323.84, despite Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports.

Technology shares were among the gainers, as hopes grew for Chinese stimulus measures. China is retaliating with tariffs on select American imports and has announced an antitrust investigation into Google.

Trump said he would act Monday to apply 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries into the U.S.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, believes markets are in for turbulence, noting Asian economies will feel the impact from the tariffs, including those on imports from Mexico and Canada.

Trump has given 30-day reprieves for tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada. But the newly announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports would apply to them.

“Asian markets are staring down the barrel of a volatile open,” he said, while noting some of the effects may have already been factored in.

South Korea's Kospi lost less than 0.1% to 2,521.27. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 8,482.80.

Wall Street ended last week with the S&P 500 falling 0.9%, although it remains near its record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 444 points, or 1%, and a sharp fall for Amazon after its latest profit report dragged the Nasdaq composite to a market-leading loss of 1.4%.

Treasury yields also climbed in the bond market after a discouraging report on Friday morning suggested sentiment is unexpectedly souring among U.S. consumers. The preliminary report from the University of Michigan said U.S. consumers are expecting inflation in the year ahead to hit 4.3%, the highest such forecast since 2023.

Expectations are growing that U.S. tariffs on a wide range of imported products that Trump has proposed could ultimately push up prices for U.S. consumers.

Markets are also watching for the latest earnings reports.

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. both report earnings on Thursday, as speculation grows their talks to set up a joint holding company may unravel. Japanese media reports, all citing unidentified sources, sent both stocks gyrating over the past week.

Amazon, one of Wall Street’s most influential companies, topped analysts’ expectations for earnings at the end of 2024, but its stock nevertheless fell 4.1%. Investors focused instead on its forecast for upcoming revenue, which fell short of analysts’ expectations.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 57.58 points to 6,025.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 444.23 to 44,303.40, and the Nasdaq composite sank 268.59 to 19,523.40.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.48% last Friday from 4.44% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, rose more. It climbed to 4.28% from 4.22%.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 39 cents to $71.39 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 44 cents to $75.10 a barrel.

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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