TikTok to strike 'high-level' deal to continue running in US by April deadline, says JD Vance

Vice President JD Vance declared on Friday that a deal to save the wildly popular TikTok app from being banned on US soil is 'almost certainly' within reach - but the clock is ticking fast.

In less than a month, TikTok could have one or a few new owners, be banned again, or simply receive another reprieve to continue operating in the United States. 

In an exclusive interview with NBC News aboard Air Force Two, Vance, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump to lead the delicate negotiations, projected cautious optimism but underscored the high-stakes nature of the effort.

'There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise,' Vance said, signaling for the first time that a framework may be near.

TikTok's future in America has been teetering on the brink ever since then-President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation last year, requiring TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American buyer or face an outright ban. 

But when Trump returned to power, he issued an executive order on his first day in office, effectively pausing the ban for 75 days, giving ByteDance until April 5 to ink a deal. 

'A lot of people want it, and it's up to me,' Trump said cryptically aboard Air Force One on Sunday, hinting at the massive stakes involved without disclosing the four bidding groups reportedly under consideration.

Yet, the pressure is mounting as ByteDance remains publicly silent on whether it will sell the app - a platform used daily by over 150 million Americans and estimated to be worth up to $50 billion.

Vance, a former venture capitalist, described the negotiations as a race against time, noting that the complexity of the deal, potentially involving billions of dollars, multiple investors, and intricate legal frameworks.

'Typically, some of these deals that are much smaller and involve much less capital take months to close,' Vance said. 

'We're trying to close this thing by early April. I think that the outlines of this thing will be very clear. The question is whether we can get all the paper done.' 

Despite the legal and bureaucratic hurdles, Vance remains hopeful that an extension won't be necessary, though he stopped short of ruling it out.

'We'd like to get it done without the extension,' he said, before warning, 'The deal itself will be very clear, but actually creating those thousands and thousands of pages of legal documents, that's the one thing that I worry could slip.' 

Although  Vance declined to identify specific bidders, the battle for TikTok is no secret. Among the known suitors:

• Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner, CEO of Omnivest Financial, who claims to have made a $47.45 billion bid.

• Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who joined a consortium led by billionaire Frank McCourt, offering $20 billion in cash with plans to rebuild TikTok on blockchain technology to enhance user data control.

• Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, backed by Roblox's CEO, offering over $30 billion.

• AI startup Perplexity AI, which reportedly proposed a merger to combine operations with TikTok’s U.S. arm.

• Microsoft, and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, have also been floated as potential players.

As the self-proclaimed ultimate decision-maker, Trump's stance remains pivotal - and unpredictable.

Though he fought tooth and nail to ban TikTok on national security grounds during his first administration, his tone has softened since, even crediting the app for helping him gain youth votes in the 2024 election.

'We're dealing with four different groups,' Trump told reporters, without offering specifics, adding pointedly, 'It's up to me.' 

Still, Trump hasn't ruled out a ban if ByteDance refuses to budge.

Trump has floated one idea that the US government itself might own a stake in TikTok via a public investment fund, although no details have been officially released.

China's government, once openly hostile to US attempts to force TikTok's sale, appears to have softened its rhetoric, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning recently stating that such business decisions should be 'independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles.'

Still, serious questions remain about whether ByteDance will part with its crown jewel, particularly given the app's closely guarded algorithm, a source of tension in national security circles.

If a deal is not closed by April 5, the bipartisan ban law would snap back into place, effectively cutting TikTok off from users in the US - although Trump could extend the deadline again.

'I think whether it's through an extension, or whether it's through actually just getting the deal in place that satisfies national security concerns, I think we're going to be in a place where we can say TikTok is operational, and it's also operational in a way that's protective of Americans' data privacy and America's national security,' Vance said, attempting to reassure the millions of US users concerned about the fate of the platform.