• AppLovin confirmed a preliminary bid in an SEC filing to buy TikTok's business outside China.
• China's ByteDance faces a Saturday deadline to divest TikTok's US operations.
• AppLovin joins a long list of suitors who have put in last-minute bids.

Adtech company AppLovin has submitted a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok's operations outside China, joining a crowded list of suitors a day before a US TikTok ban is set to take effect.

AppLovin confirmed it submitted a preliminary "indication of interest" to President Donald Trump in a Thursday SEC filing.

The company, which helps developers market and advertise their apps, said in the filing that "there can be no assurance" that a transaction involving TikTok would proceed.

It's unclear exactly how AppLovin would finance or structure a deal, given TikTok's vast scale. TikTok's US operations are estimated to have a sale value of $40 billion to $50 billion.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has previously suggested TikTok's global valuation could exceed $100 billion, potentially reaching $200 billion if its algorithm is included in the calculation. AppLovin has a market capitalization of just over $89 billion.

The bid places AppLovin among a growing list of late-stage suitors vying for TikTok as US lawmakers push for the app's separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

This week, Amazon put in a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, The New York Times reported. And on Wednesday, Reuters reported that a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely had submitted an intent to bid on TikTok.

They add to a flurry of other names that have been linked to buying TikTok.

Oracle has emerged as a leading contender, according to multiple reports, with a deal reportedly involving oversight of TikTok's US user data.

The YouTuber MrBeast said in January that he was part of a group making an all-cash offer for TikTok's US operations.

Other parties linked to a TikTok deal include Microsoft, Walmart, video-sharing platform Rumble, and AI startup Perplexity.

TikTok's future in the US has been uncertain since April 2024, when Congress mandated ByteDance divest TikTok's US business or face a nationwide ban. After taking office in January, Trump extended that deadline by 75 days.

The White House has been directly involved in deal talks as national security concerns remain central to negotiations.

On Wednesday, Trump introduced an effective 54% tariff rate on Chinese imports. The president told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday it gives the US "great power" to negotiate and a potential bargaining chip in a TikTok deal. On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all products imported from the US.

• Trump said the new 54% tariffs on China have given him "great power" to negotiate a TikTok deal.
• He said he would be willing to lower tariffs if countries gave him something "phenomenal."
• TikTok's April 5 divest-or-ban deadline edges even closer, with no buyer deal confirmed.

President Donald Trump is once again waving a tariff reduction carrot at China to get it to cave on a TikTok deal.

Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, a day after imposing a baseline 10% tariff on imports from all countries and increasing China's tariff rate to 54%.

He said he would be open to cutting deals with countries over the tariffs, only if they're willing to give the US "something that's so phenomenal."

"For instance, with TikTok as an example, we have the situation with TikTok, where China will probably say, 'We'll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariff?'" Trump said.

"The tariffs give us great power to negotiate, always have," he added.

When another reporter asked if he was in talks with China to grant tariff relief in exchange for a deal on TikTok, Trump replied that he was not.

Trump has previously floated the possibility of using tariffs to negotiate a TikTok deal with China.

In a press conference on March 26, Trump said China will have to "play a role" in TikTok's sale, "possibly in the form of an approval."

"Maybe I'll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done, you know, because every point in tariffs is worth more money than TikTok," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

This comes as TikTok's divest-or-ban deadline, slated for April 5, edges closer. In April 2024, the Senate passed a law ordering TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the social media platform or have it banned in the US.

When he entered office in January, Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban by 75 days, temporarily preventing it from going dark for US users.

In the last few months, several parties have indicated interest in acquiring TikTok, like Trump's former treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and YouTuber MrBeast.

There have also been reports of several eleventh-hour bids from Amazon and the owner of adult content site OnlyFans to buy the platform.

Vice President JD Vance said in a Thursday interview with Fox News that a TikTok deal would be reached before the April 5 deadline.

Tariffs on China

On Wednesday, Trump raised China's tariff rate from 20% to 54%, drawing criticism from the Chinese government.

Trump first imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods in February before doubling it to 20% in March. While on the campaign trail last year, Trump said he would impose tariffs of more than 60% tariffs on goods from China if elected.

China swiftly retaliated to both rounds of Trump's tariffs. In February, China imposed a 10% tariff on crude oil and agricultural equipment and a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas. In March, China placed a 10% tariff on soybeans, pork, and beef imports from the US, as well as a 15% tariff on chicken and cotton imports.

In response to Trump's increased tariffs on Wednesday, China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement it will "resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests."

"Trade wars have no winners, and protectionism has no way out. The Chinese side urges the US to immediately lift its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with trading partners through equal dialogue," it added.

As of press time, China has not announced any retaliatory measures.

Representatives for Trump did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.