President Trump kept mum about a TikTok deal despite expectations for a big announcement — but fresh bidders including Amazon surfaced with surprise offers to buy the app before Saturday’s deadline.
Amazon – whose billionaire founder Jeff Bezos has lately cultivated closer ties with Trump – submitted a last-minute offer letter that was addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to reports.
The White House confirmed receiving the offer on Wednesday. Other details, such as the dollar value of Amazon’s proposal, were not revealed.
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However, key parties involved in negotiations on a potential TikTok sale “do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously,” according to The New York Times, which first reported the story.
Amazon declined to comment. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Mobile tech firm AppLovin also submitted a bid to buy TikTok, as did a group that includes OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, according to reports.
Trump on Wednesday afternoon concluded an hour-long address about his reciprocal tariff plan without addressing a potential TikTok sale.
However, the president was slated to meet with key advisers — including Vance, Lutnick, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — to discuss a final proposal that has taken shape.
Under the Trump administration’s proposal, a new group of US investors – potentially including Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone Group – will own about 50% of a spun-off “TikTok America” and license the app’s current algorithm from China-based ByteDance, The Information reported on Wednesday.
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The company’s existing US investors – including General Atlantic, Susquehanna, KKR and Coatue – will own about one-third of the company.
ByteDance will retain a 19.9% ownership stake in TikTok – just below the 20% threshold limiting Chinese ownership outlined in Congress’s law. Trump will assert to Congress that the structure meets the Congressionally mandated standard for a “qualified divestiture.”
However, it remains unclear if that structure would gain support from China hawks like the Senate Intel Committee’s Republican Chairman Tom Cotton, who have argued ByteDance and Beijing should have no ties to the app going forward.
Trump has until Saturday to find an acceptable buyer for TikTok after issuing an executive order delaying enforcement of a federal law that banned the app unless ByteDance divested. The president could opt to extend the deadline again if terms aren’t finalized.
Congress and the feds say TikTok is a national security threat until China is no longer involved in its operations. The app has more than 170 million American users.
The Post reported last month that existing US investors in TikTok parent ByteDance were seeking to acquire larger stakes as part of the proposed handover.
Oracle, which already serves as TikTok’s key cloud computing partner, is expected to take on an increased role to ensure its algorithm is safe from manipulation and manage US user data.
New investors were approached to contribute to the deal and help buy out Chinese investors, the FT reported on Tuesday.
Trump still needs approval from the Chinese government, which initially vowed to fight any forced sale but has recently softened its stances.
The president has floated the possibility of giving China some breaks on tariffs in exchange for a TikTok deal.
