Blackstone Backs Off From TikTok Ownership Plans

Group 1 - Blackstone has withdrawn from plans to invest in TikTok US amid uncertainty regarding the deal and multiple delays [1][2][3] - The intended investment was aimed at purchasing a minority stake to separate TikTok's U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance [3] - The deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok US has been postponed multiple times, leading to investor uncertainty [3][4] Group 2 - President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok US to September 17, 2024, from the initial deadline of January 19, 2024 [4] - Criticism has arisen from lawmakers regarding the extensions, claiming the administration is ignoring national security concerns related to ByteDance's connections to the Chinese government [4] - ByteDance is exploring options to address these concerns, including the potential sale or restructuring of its U.S. operations [5] Group 3 - Earlier plans to spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm were paused after China indicated it would not approve the transaction [6] - TikTok is reportedly developing a standalone U.S. app with its own algorithm and data system to migrate its 170 million American users [6] - Employees have been working on a U.S.-specific version of TikTok by duplicating the application's codebase, including AI models and user data [7]