Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is assembling an investor group to pursue the acquisition of TikTok, according to a report from CNBC.
This development comes on the heels of the U.S. House of Representatives passing a bill that would compel ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular short-video app, to divest its U.S. assets within approximately six months or face a ban.
In response to the bill, TikTok characterized it as a “ban” and urged senators to heed the concerns of their constituents before making any decisions.
“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin remarked during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday.
“It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” he added.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said that the company intends to exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban.
The prospect of Mnuchin leading an investor consortium to acquire TikTok signals a potential shift in the app’s ownership landscape amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical tensions.
