Who is Frank McCourt, the billionaire interested in acquiring TikTok?
The US began the process of banning TikTok earlier this month unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. A new suitor is preparing a bid.
President Biden signed a bill earlier this month that requires ByteDance, a Chinese-based company, to divest from TikTok or be banned in the United States. The company has fought back filing a lawsuit declaring the legislation unconstitutional which will extend the initial nine-month deadline given until the courts decide.
Nonetheless, investors are already preparing bids to purchase TikTok from its Chinese parent company, despite the fact that it says the short-video social media platform is not for sale.
The latest suitor to come calling is billionaire civic entrepreneur Frank McCourt. He is assembling a consortium that wants to “rearchitect the platform to put people in control of their digital identities and data.”
Who is Frank McCourt, the billionaire interested in acquiring TikTok?
Frank McCourt, Jr was born in Boston in 1953. His family was involved in real estate and construction in the Boston area dating back to the late 1800s. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1975 with an economics degree.
Two years later he left the family business and founded The McCourt Company which initially focused on real estate development projects. Nowadays the company is also dedicated to capital investments, media, technology and sports. He was the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004 to 2012 and is the current owner of the French Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille since 2016.
In 2021, he founded Project Liberty, which “is leading a movement of people who want to take back control of their lives in the digital age by reclaiming a voice, choice, and stake in a better internet,” according to its website. It is under the auspices of this organization that “a people’s bid to acquire TikTok” is taking place.
The proposed acquisition of TikTok by McCourt
The proposition is being supported by “leading technologists and academics, including Jonathan Haidt, David Clark, and Sir Tim Berners-Lee,” according to a press release. The goal of the project is to place “people and data empowerment at the center of the platform’s design and purpose.”
When asked by Bloomberg how much money he has for his TikTok bid, McCourt said that it was too early. For one they don’t know if ByteDance will sell, however, he believes they will. Then there is the question of what the asking price will be and what they will be selling exactly.
One of the major sticking points would be the social media platform’s algorithm, the sale of which would likely be blocked by the Chinese government. However, McCourt told Bloomberg “we’re not interested in ByteDance’s algorithm which makes our bid particularly unique.”
The vision of the acquisition bid is to “catalyze an alternative to the current tech model that has colonized the internet.” Project Liberty wants “a more open, inclusive and responsible internet.”
“We believe we can preserve – and enhance – the TikTok experience by giving individuals and creators on the platform the value and control they deserve regarding who has access to their data and how it is used,” said McCourt in a statement.
“This country has long been the global driver of ground-breaking innovation, and I encourage anyone who’s interested in reclaiming your data from Big Tech to engage with us and take a step forward to redefine the future of the internet for the people,” he added.