Frank McCourt says MrBeast in talks to join his TikTok bid

Zoom in: The group in on the bid is composed of "all the major investment firms that you would imagine," including private equity firms, large family offices and alternative asset managers, McCourt said.

• In addition, he suggested the existing investors in Chinese-owned ByteDance will also want to roll over their investments into a U.S. TikTok spin-off.

What he's saying: McCourt said he's spoken to MrBeast — born Jimmy Donaldson — who has publicly expressed interest in buying TikTok. "MrBeast is going to be a part of this bid, too. So he's very entrepreneurial," McCourt said.

• "We welcome everyone," McCourt said.
• A spokesperson for McCourt later told Axios, "We have only had conversations with MrBeast. Nothing set in stone."
• Representatives for MrBeast did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Asked if he'd partner with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and X owner Elon Musk, McCourt responded, "if there was an agreement on the values and principles."

Between the lines: "There is oodles of capital here. That's not the issue at all," McCourt said. "It's really the politics of this that's very, very challenging."

By the numbers: When asked if his bid would be enough to suffice the deal given the value of TikTok's U.S. arm is uncertain, McCourt said he believes his $20 billion bid accurately reflects the value.

• "You can buy shares of ByteDance on the secondary market now at a valuation with a $200 billion-plus number in front of it for the entire company," he said.
• "U.S. TikTok represents about 8%, and we're talking about buying that piece without the technology," he continued.
• The law requires that any future U.S. arm of the platform be disentangled from the Chinese technology that runs it.

Catch up quick: TikTok restored its service Sunday after going dark the previous night. A U.S. law passed last year had set a deadline of Jan. 19 for the app to face a ban unless sold to a U.S. owner.

• President Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order to delay enforcing the law by 75 days.

What to watch: The investor group has been in touch with ByteDance through bankers, McCourt said. But other than acknowledging receipt of the offer, "ByteDance is silent right now," he said.

• Their offer was the only one that went to the Justice Department, got approved and was ready to go if ByteDance signed it, according to McCourt.

What he's saying: As companies are increasingly pulling back on moderation, McCourt suggested that if his deal goes through, he would not regulate TikTok's free speech policy, privacy policy or moderation policy.

• "We need technology that is actually optimizing for what we as society want for these policies," he said. "What we have right now is a few people deciding."
• McCourt views this as a unique opportunity to solve a national security issue, help fix the Internet and begin the third generation of the Internet where users are in charge.

Catch up quick: McCourt launched Project Liberty, which includes both a for-profit company and a non-profit institute, in 2021 to help build and advocate for a safer and more equitable internet.

• He announced his intentions to assemble an investor group to buy the app in May, shortly after the bipartisan law that would instate a ban was signed.
• Alongside its research and policy efforts, Project Liberty has also developed its own blockchain-based, decentralized web infrastructure in an effort to make social media safer and more secure.
• In 2022, MeWe, a free and subscription-based social media platform that bills itself as a privacy-focused alternative to Facebook, became the first social network to launch using Project Liberty's decentralized social networking protocol (DSNP).

Go deeper: China signals willingness to allow TikTok sale