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TikTok could soon be sold. Here’s how much it’s worth and who could buy it.
TikTok could be under new ownership at this time next year, after President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a bill that gives the social media company about 12 months to either divest from its Chinese owner or face a U.S. ban.
TikTok is vowing to fight the new law in the courts, with CEO Shou Chou saying in a video posted to the service yesterday that “the facts and the Constitution are on our side.” He added that TikTok expects “to prevail again,” referring to Montana’s efforts to ban the app, which was blocked by a federal judge.
That being said, TikTok is likely to attract attention from numerous suitors, given that the social media service is used by 6 in 10 Americans under the age of 30. Its algorithm offers up constantly scrolling videos pegged to users’ personal interests and habits, creating an addictive stream that keeps them glued to the app.
That could prove extremely valuable to a number of suitors, as long as TikTok is sold with its “golden jewel algorithm,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told CBS MoneyWatch.
With the algorithm, he said, “We estimate TikTok is worth $100 billion.”
But TikTok’s owner could strip out that proprietary piece of technology in a sale, making it much less valuable to potential buyers, Ives added.
Here’s what to know.
Who owns TikTok now?
TikTok, with more than 170 million American users, is a subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance, which is why U.S. lawmakers describe the company as “Chinese-owned.”
But ByteDance’s structure is complicated, with the Associated Press reporting that it is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands.
TikTok, for its part, argues its alleged ownership by a Chinese company is a myth. In a 2023 posting on its website, the video platform says that ByteDance is 60% owned by global institutional investors, including Susquehanna International Group, Carlyle Group and General Atlantic. Another 20% is owned by ByteDance employees, while the remaining 20% is owned by its founder, Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, the company says.
How much is TikTok worth in 2024?
TikTok is likely worth $100 billion, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
But that valuation is based on TikTok’s algorithm, the logic written into the software that decides which videos to serve up to its users in a constant stream. Without the algorithm, the company could be sold for much less, Ives said.
“We believe China and ByteDance will never sell this with the golden jewel algorithm. Without the algorithm we believe TikTok is worth $30 billion to $40 billion,” he told CBS MoneyWatch.
Who could buy TikTok?
Likely suitors would be Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart, Ives said. But other companies and investors are likely to express interest, he added.
“Private equity will swarm after this deal as well with [former Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin and others,” Ives said.
Mnuchin told CNBC last month that he was working on a coalition of investors to acquire TikTok, anticipating that the divest-or-ban bill would become law. “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” Mnuchin told CNBC.
How likely is it that TikTok will be sold?
It’s hard to say, but Ives said he believes there’s a 75% chance TikTok will have new ownership by early 2025.
At the same time, TikTok has previously succeeded in blocking a ban through legal action, with a federal judge ruling late last year that Montana’s attempt to ban the service “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional rights of users and businesses.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.