1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 2: Carol, let's turn to TikTok. Now this is such a 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 2: big issue in Washington. We're joined by Frank McCord, executive 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 2: chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, which 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 2: have made a formal offer to acquire the social media 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 2: giant less than two weeks ago, not long before the 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 2: band deadline. Frank, I wanted to start with the reprieve 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 2: that President Donald Trump signed hours after taking office. How 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 2: has that complicated efforts by you and other bidders perhaps 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 2: to get byt Dance to come to the table to 11 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: talk about a sale. 12 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: Well, I really haven't complicated anything from our perspective, Mike, 13 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: where you just continue to you know, chug along, and 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: we're prepared here. We're hanging around the hoops, so to speak, 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: waiting for bike Dance to make a decision. And if 16 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: it takes a little bit more time, so be it. 17 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: But you know, we feel where in a really unique 18 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: position to buy us TikTok. We're the only ones that 19 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: actually put a bid in and submitted to the Department 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: of Justice before the original deadline, and where we were 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: ready to roll, but for a signature from BYT Dance, 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: So we continue to be ready. We have more and 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: more conversations, there's more and more excitement around this. We 24 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: had a fabulous couple of days in Davos where there 25 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: was great excitement around the project. So yeah, I've remain 26 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: optimistic and I think we just have to give BYT 27 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: Dance time to sort this out, but I believe they will. 28 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: Buying us TikTok without the Chinese technology is the way forward. 29 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 2: What if you heard back from Byte Dance in response 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,199 Speaker 2: to this offer, Have they been engaging much at all? 31 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,279 Speaker 2: And would President Donald Trump be in position to perhaps 32 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 2: help you get them to really get the discussions going. 33 00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: Well, my hope is that President Trump can be, you know, 34 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: a deal maker here and help get this a deal 35 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:10,519 Speaker 1: done by convincing By Dance to actually sell us TikTok 36 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: and not shut it down. I mean, those are the 37 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: two choices here, and By Dance themselves have been pretty silent. 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: I mean, they've acknowledged receipt of our offer, but I 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 1: think quite frankly, they're they're digesting everything. I think their 40 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: hope originally was relief from the Supreme Court, which they 41 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: did not get. As you well know, and now I 42 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: think they're in a new reality, and so they're confronted 43 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: with a shutdown or a sale, and we believe that 44 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: a sale is the best way forward. It will keep 45 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: the opp lit up and as I say it, without 46 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: the Chinese technology, why not sell? 47 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 3: Who have you been talking to? Where's the excitement in Dallas? 48 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: It's interesting. We had a little house called Future House 49 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: that on the promenade and was lined with different AI 50 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: products being marketed and and so forth. It was the 51 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: theme really of Davos this year, and Carolyn our house 52 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 1: Future House had a long line outside. 53 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 3: Of people who want to invest with you, though, Frank 54 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 3: you speaking to mister Beest, for example, because he's joined 55 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 3: another consult him, it seems. 56 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: Well, mister Beasts has joined all consortiums, so he's interested 57 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: in keeping his options open. I've talked to Jimmy. Others 58 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: have talked to Jimmy. You've read the reports that he 59 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: has not aligned with a single bidder, But put that aside. 60 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: I think the people that were really interested in of 61 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: course interested in seeing what will happen with TikTok. But 62 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: as I've said over and over again, this is an 63 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: opportunity to actually reimagine how the internet works and give 64 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: people ownership and control of their identity and their data 65 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: and their relationships. And that's very exciting to people and 66 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: including by the way, TikTok influencers. 67 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 3: And that is what sets you apart the fact that 68 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 3: you're building to a new tech stack basically, and a 69 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 3: decentralized one at that. Frank, what does it mean to 70 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 3: potentially work with the US government? Would you want to 71 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 3: have the US government also buying, in fact talking in 72 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 3: the US government. We're just going to have to listen 73 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 3: in to President Trump just one moment, Frank, sit with us. 74 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 3: We were just asking you if you'd work alongside Trump. 75 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 3: He's thinking about potentially having a US the government own 76 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 3: a piece of TikTok. 77 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: Well, yeah, we absolutely want to work alongside President Trump, 78 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: and I think he can be very very helpful. I 79 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: do think ultimately the US TikTok is going to be 80 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: in the hands of the private sector and totally disentangled 81 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: from the Chinese technology. I think that's really clear in 82 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: the legislation and was made doubly clear. You know on 83 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: pages five, five and six of the Supreme Court decision 84 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: that their Congress is looking for a complete disentanglement. And 85 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: that's Caroline, which puts us in a unique position because 86 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: we have the tech stack. We've been building it for 87 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: the last five years to move the user base and 88 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: the data onto This is. 89 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 3: A story that will evolve. We thank you so much 90 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 3: for your patients coming life from Rome. Frank McCourt, executive 91 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 3: chairman of the Court Global and founder of Project Liberty. 92 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 3: We hope we will come back as the negotiations continue.