Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has come into the limelight once again intending to purchase the social media app, TikTok. The competition to acquire the app has taken an intriguing turn.

Kevin O’Leary’s $20B TikTok offer is rejected as ByteDance confirms it won’t sell the key technology behind the app’s success.

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is required to sell the app to a U.S.-based buyer or face a nationwide ban.

"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary discussed TikTok's future, particularly the role of a "secret golden share" as his offer for the platform remains on the table.

ByteDance has repeatedly stated it has no desire to sell TikTok, yet O’Leary has been persistent in his campaign to buy the U.S. arm of the platform — even without the algorithm in place.

Kevin O’Leary says that he’s still interested in deal for TikTok, but that it’s no longer legally viable, even after Trump extended a ban on the platform.

TikTok is a huge part of American online culture, with millions of users consuming, posting and sharing content every day. But the app’s future in the U.S. is uncertain. If its parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t agree to a sale, TikTok faces a nationwide ban following the passage of a national security law in April.

Canadian investor Kevin O'Leary is still interested in a TikTok ... owned by China-based tech giant ByteDance, stay active under a joint venture with a 50% American stake. Get top local stories ...

Headed up by Trump pal Larry Ellison, TikTok has an existing partnership with Oracle. The cloud company already hosts TikTok’s US user data and the company was a key part of TikTok’s original negotiations to remain operational in the US under a plan called Project Texas. (Those negotiations abruptly fell apart in 2022.)

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary recently updated his followers about his offer of $20 billion to buy TikTok.

Content creator Jimmy Donaldson, known on the Internet as MrBeast, has made it clear he is interested in buying TikTok. Donaldson has the most subscribers of any user on YouTube— over 340 million—and boasts over 113 million TikTok followers.

ByteDance (BDNCE) board member Bill Ford said the TikTok parent is exploring a deal to keep the short video app running in America without selling its operations there.