Wyoming entrepreneur bids $47.45 billion to buy TikTok, move it to state

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming native and former congressional candidate Reid Rasner said he plans to bring the popular social media app TikTok to the Cowboy State in a nearly $50 billion purchase. Negotiations are ongoing, and he has around 30 days to complete the deal.

Several big names are in the hat for potential buyers of the mobile application, including Elon Musk, Jimmy Donaldson (aka Mr. Beast) and Kevin O’Leary, according to an article from TIME Magazine.

Despite this, Rasner is confident that his offer is the best one out there and said the deal not going through in the next month is not an option.

He and his team are working on a tight deadline.

On Jan. 18, TikTok went dark in the United States in response to a federal ban after members of the government raised concerns about TikTok’s China- based owner ByteDance and the access it may have to U.S. data. The next day, the app’s service was restored following an executive order from President Donald Trump.

After he was sworn into office for the second time, Trump granted TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law that requires a sale or ban of the platform.

General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, a major investor in ByteDance and a member of its board of directors, told Axios in January that a deal has to get done before the full ban goes into effect.

If ByteDance decides to sell, potential buyers may have to spend between $40 billion and $50 billion, Center for Financial Research and Analysis Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino told CNBC in January.

Rasner’s offer is $47.45 billion.

What sets his offer apart from the others is the purchase of the app and algorithm as well, completely separating TikTok from ByteDance and any potential ties to the Chinese government, Rasner said.

This story was published on February 22, 2025.