Mark Cuban is leaving no room for doubt in the case of Kevin O’Leary’s plan to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations. The billionaire investor and “Shark Tank” star took to X to critique the bid, calling it an extended shot and warning O’Leary concerning the risks involved. Cuban’s message to him is to think twice before diving into this deal, especially and not using a clear path to success.
Frank McCourt, the previous owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has teamed up with Kevin O’Leary to purchase TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Dubbed The People’s Bid for TikTok, their proposal goals to amass TikTok’s U.S. assets, rebuild the app with American-designed technology and ensure user privacy.
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The bid comes at a critical time. The Supreme Court is ready to review a U.S. law that would ban TikTok starting Jan. 19, 2025, unless it’s sold. Nonetheless, ByteDance has repeatedly said it’s not all in favour of selling TikTok – and experts are also questioning whether the platform can survive without its famous algorithm, which is excluded from any potential sale resulting from Chinese export controls.
Mark Cuban doesn’t see O’Leary’s plan figuring out. In his X thread, Cuban predicted that O’Leary would tell ByteDance and its bankers to simply accept the deal as a approach to avoid TikTok being shut down within the U.S. Nonetheless, Cuban doubts the viability of such a move, highlighting several major obstacles:
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Ad revenue is not what it was: Cuban argued that O’Leary’s plan to depend on promoting revenue to sustain TikTok’s U.S. operations is not realistic in today’s market.
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User retention will likely be tough: Keeping users engaged without the unique TikTok algorithm will likely be a big challenge, especially with other platforms wanting to poach its audience.
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ByteDance likely won’t sell: Cuban doubts ByteDance would conform to sell TikTok, calling it a $300 billion asset that would not be off-loaded for a fraction of its value.
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Competitors are able to pounce: With every major platform eyeing TikTok’s users, rebuilding from scratch will likely be an uphill battle.
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