(CTN News) – According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, Blackstone has withdrawn from a consortium that was considering investing in TikTok’s operations in the US. Reuters was able to acquire this information on Thursday.

The multiple delays and growing uncertainty that have transpired have led to the implementation of this most recent amendment to the TikTok agreement, which is currently the focus of trade negotiations between the United States of America and China.

President Donald Trump’s deal stipulated that Blackstone would buy a minority stake in the US-based TikTok company.

Blackstone wanted to acquire this minority interest.

The transaction was compliant with the regulations as stipulated in the agreement. Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, who are also current investors in the consortium, now own ByteDance, the Chinese company that runs TikTok.

Investors make up the consortium as a whole. Susquehanna International Group is in charge of the consortium and is responsible for it. This arrangement has made the corporation the most competitive bidder for the acquisition of TikTok’s operations in the United States.

However, the deal stipulated that American investors would own 80% of TikTok, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake in the business. Blackstone made the choice to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, when contacted, TikTok did not respond promptly.

ByteDance’s investors are worried about the company’s survival because of the ongoing difficulties it is experiencing in selling its well-liked social networking software in the US. Investors are consequently growing more concerned about the company’s future.

One month ago, President Trump issued his third executive order, which included an extension for ByteDance to sell TikTok. The business can face possible bans if ByteDance doesn’t offer an extension. Following the postponement of the original deadline, the new deadline has been established for September 17.

Congress enacted legislation in April 2024 mandating that TikTok be sold or shut down by January 19, 2025. The Blackstone Act imposed this deadline. Both of the options that were available had a deadline.

Senators have expressed their displeasure with the deadline extension, saying the Trump administration is “flouting the law” and ignoring the national security threats linked with Chinese ownership of TikTok.

Senators are dissatisfied with the delay.

To solve these issues, the company ByteDance is now researching a wide range of viable solutions. The organization may decide to restructure or discontinue its activities in the United States. This is among the options.

According to several people who talked to Reuters, the Chinese social media behemoth has already surpassed Meta in terms of monthly revenue. The people themselves supplied this information. The corporation made forty-three billion dollars in revenue in the first three months of this year.

According to a recent Reuters article, KKR is also a member of the U.S. consortium, which includes fresh investors like Andreessen Horowitz.

We need more members to complete the consortium. Regarding the Blackstone possibility of negotiating an agreement that includes TikTok, the administration views the consortium favorably. Oracle might decide to buy a business interest in the company.

Currently, there is no information about the Blackstone presence of any new candidates in the consortium process. Before it was officially implemented in the spring of 2018, a plan to divide TikTok’s US operations into a new US-based business had been in the works.

However, China’s declaration of not approving the transaction prohibited subsequent negotiations. President Trump’s declaration that he would impose high tariffs on Chinese imports was the immediate cause of this incident.

SOURCE: DN