[UPDATE: 03/04/25: AppLovin has confirmed its interest in buying TikTok through an SEC filing. It reads:
“On April 3, 2025, AppLovin Corporation (the “Company”) confirmed that the Company has provided an indication of interest to the President of the United States to explore a purchase of TikTok in all markets outside of China. This indication of interest is preliminary and there can be no assurance that a transaction involving the Company will proceed.”
The original story continues below]
Adtech giant AppLovin has emerged as a contender to buy TikTok, reports CNBC.
The US news outlet quotes sources as saying the Trump administration is “fully aware” of AppLovin’s interest in buying TikTok. It is one of several US-owned contenders rumoured to be buying the Chinese-owned social video platform.
But CNBC’s sources also add that it’s still unclear whether the US-based companies interested in acquiring TikTok will actually be able to take control of the non-Chinese part of the company. CNBC also notes that any future deal may not include the algorithm that powers TikTok’s recommendation systems, and therefore it’s difficult to put even a rough figure on any potential acquisition.
Reuters reports that Amazon and a group led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely are also in the running for a TikTok deal.
Another US TikTok ban is looming on April 5, part of US lawmakers’ attempts to wrestle the platform away from its Chinese owner Bytedance and put it in US hands. The previous ban in January meant that Marvel Snap and several Moonton games were also taken offline in the US due to their ties to TikTok’s parent company Bytedance. Marvel Snap later returned to US app stores and found a new US-based publisher, Skystone Games.
AppLovin has been in the headlines plenty in the last year, after posting a string of stellar earnings reports that have caused its share price to rocket. But reports from short sellers in recent weeks have caused concerns among investors – its share price has dropped from a high of $510 in February to around $290 at the close of trading today. AppLovin boss Adam Foroughi has hit back at the claims twice, and the company has appointed a law firm to investigate the short selling activity.
As we revealed in February, AppLovin is also selling its 10 game development studios for $900m. AppLovin has said it is selling its games arm to a privately-owned company “that specializes in and champions game development”.
Our sources plus reports from Business Insider suggest the buyer is UK firm Tripledot, but we’ll find out for sure in the coming quarter, AppLovin has said.
