Blackstone considers small investments in Tiktok

The Blackstone Private Capital Giant weighs, taking a small share of Tiktok before the April 5th deadline set by President Trump for Chinese application to change its ownership or deal with the US prohibition in accordance with federal law, according to the situation.

The investment in Tiktok would give Blackstone the opportunity to bite one of the most popular social media applications in the world, which have over 170 million American users. It is not clear if any investment – which would probably be a fraction of the size of Blackstone’s typical bids – will proceed with other investors also surrounding the application, which belongs to the Chinese online giant byTedance, four people who are familiar with the conversations.

If an investment happens, it could boost favor with President Trump, who has made a mission to save Tiktok from the disappearance of the federal law. Last year, Congress has passed the law that forces the sale of the application due to national security concerns related to Chinese property.

Mr Trump expanded the deadline for an agreement in January and suggested that he could do so again if no agreement was reached next week. He also suggested this week that he could relax the upcoming invoices in China in return for the support of a country’s agreement.

Blackstone’s conversations add to Tiktok’s chaotic history in the United States. The video app has repeatedly overcome political efforts to close it in the country. In January, the application destroyed in the United States for about 12 hours before the overthrow of life.

A Blackstone spokesman said the business did not comment on the speculation of the deal. Neither Tiktok nor the White House responded to requests for comments. Reuters mentioned Blackstone’s interest earlier.

As April 5 approaches, the debate on potential suitors for the application has been intensified. Mr Trump has repeatedly approached the parties that place him ideas and his interest in different arrangements can be fleeting, two other people say close to talks.

The most likely option is an agreement in which existing US investors in Bytetance roll over their shares in a new independent Tiktok company, two people participating in the conversations have said. Additional US investors, such as Blackstone, will be promoted to reduce the rate of Chinese investors.

This will bypass a full sale of Tiktok, which would be forbidden for most buyers and could force current investors to sell a valuable pressure company under pressure, probably depressing the price. The law requires more than 20 % of Tiktok or its parent company to belong to people or companies in the so -called countries of foreign opponents, a list that includes China.

“There are several alternatives that we can talk to with President Trump and his team about what they do not sell the company that allow the company to continue operating, perhaps with a change of control of some kind, but it should not sell,” said Bill Ford, Managing Director of General Atlantic, one of the US.

Blackstone, which manages more than $ 1 trillion, is usually involved in megadeals. It has investments in businesses as diverse as Rover, an online market for pet care. Spanx, the Women’s Wear brand. And Jersey Mike’s sandwich chain.

The head of the private shares company Stephen Schwarzman is a Republican Megadonor and a supporter of Trump with important business interests in China.

Today, BYTEDANCE’s largest investors include Susquehanna, a global trading company that owned about 15 % of the Chinese company since last year, and General Atlantic, which was invested for the first time in ByTedance in 2017 with a $ 20 billion assessment. Susquehanna has played a key role in negotiating what the deal can happen, two people have said and is likely to increase its shareholder in Tiktok as part of the New Deal.

Oracle, who hosts some of Tiktok’s data, has also participated in the talks, two people said. A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

David McCabe and Sapna Maheshwari They contributed reports.