"It's still very noisy" - Ex-Dodgers owner Frank McCourt makes his bid for $100B app TikTok, promises more transparency for users
Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is on a mission to save video-hosting and sharing service TikTok. The business executive who owned the Dodgers from 2004 to 2012 is set to build a consortium to take over the U.S. side of the business.
Recently U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill that banned the Chinese video-sharing company from doing any business in the United States. It has given its owners 12 months to either divulge their Chinese ownership or face a ban in America.
Frank McCourt is assembling a group of investors who could benefit from the bill. It includes the investment bank Guggenheim Securities, to whom McCourt had sold the Dodgers in 2012.
"It's too early to note what price TikTok will fetch or if it will be sold. This is still early in a process. It's still very noisy," McCourt said about the potential bid.
If he takes over, McCourt promised to give more autonomy to the users in a bid to restructure the app. He has vowed to give more agency to the people and will allow for increased transparency with the help of an open-source protocol.
"With the goal of placing people and data empowerment at the center of the platform's design and purpose," McCourt said in an announcement on Wednesday.
TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has stated that it's unwilling to sell the company. The owners have also stated that they will go to the U.S. courts to overturn the decision. Already, Montana became the first state to put a hold on the federal government's bill.
Frank McCourt's ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Frank McCourt's time at the helm of the Dodgers was a turbulent one. After a failed bid to take over the Boston Red Sox, McCourt purchased the franchise from the Fox Entertainment Group in 2004. After initial rash decisions of hiring and firing of general managers, the Dodgers found stability under the Ned Colleti/Joe Torre era.
But after a string of bad seasons, the MLB appointed representatives to oversee the day-to-day finances of the Dodgers. This came after McCourt was accused by the Los Angeles Times of obtaining a personal loan to pay players. Following the oversight, the Dodgers filed for bankruptcy, with McCourt selling the franchise for $2 billion in 2012. He is currently valued at $1.2 billion.