Is Kick buying TikTok? Streaming platform shares business purchase letter of intent claiming to beat MrBeast

Kick, a livestreaming website backed by stakes, took to X on January 15 to share a purchase letter of intent to buy TikTok. The news comes on the heels of MrBeast expressing interest in the same, though Kick claims they "beat him to it."

YouTuber Jimmy, better known as MrBeast, also took to X just days prior on January 13, to share that he would be interested in purchasing the platform to circumvent the ban. Two days later, he uploaded a video saying that he had met with a "bunch of billionaires," and that they had an "offer ready" to purchase the entertainment app.

"I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. TikTok, we mean business! This is my lawyer right here. We have an offer ready for you. We want to buy the platform. America deserves TikTok. Give me a seat at the table, let me save this platform, TikTok."

The video went viral in no time, drawing over 3 million views and 12k comments in the first hour that it was posted.

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Here's all we know about Kick purchasing TikTok as parent company affirms they have no intent to sell

For the unversed, TikTok is facing a potential ban, with the deadline set to January 19. An oral meeting was held on January 10, where the lawmakers sought to uphold the ban on TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, from operating in the nation, citing concerns for privacy and security.

As for Kick's purchase letter of intent, the date reads January 13, 2025, and it outlines an agreement between the platform and ByteDance over the business, i.e. "TikTok U.S." A good chunk of the text has been redacted, including how much % of the business Kick will be owning, as well as the mailing addresses and how much the business has been purchased for.

At the time of writing, it remains unclear if the purchase letter of intent is a bogus one, as the same has yet to be confirmed. Notably, as reported by BBC, ByteDance has no plans to sell the platform, despite the line of potential buyers continuing to grow.

Just this Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk was keen on purchasing the app, though TikTok later debunked these claims, calling it “pure fiction.” Back in April 2024, the company issued a statement affirming that they would not be selling, per BBC:

"ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok. Foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true."

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During last week's oral argument, SCOTUS became privy to claims that the ban would be infringing on the American's First Amendment rights. At the time of writing, a decision has not been made, though it is expected, in the coming days.