WEBVTT - Frank McCourt Talks Buying Tik Tok

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Carol, let's turn to TikTok. Now this is such a

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<v Speaker 2>big issue in Washington. We're joined by Frank McCord, executive

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<v Speaker 2>chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, which

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<v Speaker 2>have made a formal offer to acquire the social media

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<v Speaker 2>giant less than two weeks ago, not long before the

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<v Speaker 2>band deadline. Frank, I wanted to start with the reprieve

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<v Speaker 2>that President Donald Trump signed hours after taking office. How

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<v Speaker 2>has that complicated efforts by you and other bidders perhaps

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<v Speaker 2>to get byt Dance to come to the table to

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<v Speaker 2>talk about a sale.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I really haven't complicated anything from our perspective, Mike,

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<v Speaker 1>where you just continue to you know, chug along, and

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<v Speaker 1>we're prepared here. We're hanging around the hoops, so to speak,

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for bike Dance to make a decision. And if

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<v Speaker 1>it takes a little bit more time, so be it.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, we feel where in a really unique

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<v Speaker 1>position to buy us TikTok. We're the only ones that

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<v Speaker 1>actually put a bid in and submitted to the Department

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<v Speaker 1>of Justice before the original deadline, and where we were

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<v Speaker 1>ready to roll, but for a signature from BYT Dance,

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<v Speaker 1>So we continue to be ready. We have more and

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<v Speaker 1>more conversations, there's more and more excitement around this. We

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<v Speaker 1>had a fabulous couple of days in Davos where there

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<v Speaker 1>was great excitement around the project. So yeah, I've remain

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<v Speaker 1>optimistic and I think we just have to give BYT

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<v Speaker 1>Dance time to sort this out, but I believe they will.

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<v Speaker 1>Buying us TikTok without the Chinese technology is the way forward.

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<v Speaker 2>What if you heard back from Byte Dance in response

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<v Speaker 2>to this offer, Have they been engaging much at all?

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<v Speaker 2>And would President Donald Trump be in position to perhaps

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<v Speaker 2>help you get them to really get the discussions going.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, my hope is that President Trump can be, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a deal maker here and help get this a deal

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<v Speaker 1>done by convincing By Dance to actually sell us TikTok

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<v Speaker 1>and not shut it down. I mean, those are the

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<v Speaker 1>two choices here, and By Dance themselves have been pretty silent.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, they've acknowledged receipt of our offer, but I

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<v Speaker 1>think quite frankly, they're they're digesting everything. I think their

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<v Speaker 1>hope originally was relief from the Supreme Court, which they

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<v Speaker 1>did not get. As you well know, and now I

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<v Speaker 1>think they're in a new reality, and so they're confronted

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<v Speaker 1>with a shutdown or a sale, and we believe that

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<v Speaker 1>a sale is the best way forward. It will keep

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<v Speaker 1>the opp lit up and as I say it, without

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<v Speaker 1>the Chinese technology, why not sell?

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<v Speaker 3>Who have you been talking to? Where's the excitement in Dallas?

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<v Speaker 1>It's interesting. We had a little house called Future House

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<v Speaker 1>that on the promenade and was lined with different AI

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<v Speaker 1>products being marketed and and so forth. It was the

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<v Speaker 1>theme really of Davos this year, and Carolyn our house

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<v Speaker 1>Future House had a long line outside.

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<v Speaker 3>Of people who want to invest with you, though, Frank

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<v Speaker 3>you speaking to mister Beest, for example, because he's joined

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<v Speaker 3>another consult him, it seems.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, mister Beasts has joined all consortiums, so he's interested

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<v Speaker 1>in keeping his options open. I've talked to Jimmy. Others

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<v Speaker 1>have talked to Jimmy. You've read the reports that he

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<v Speaker 1>has not aligned with a single bidder, But put that aside.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the people that were really interested in of

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<v Speaker 1>course interested in seeing what will happen with TikTok. But

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<v Speaker 1>as I've said over and over again, this is an

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<v Speaker 1>opportunity to actually reimagine how the internet works and give

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<v Speaker 1>people ownership and control of their identity and their data

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<v Speaker 1>and their relationships. And that's very exciting to people and

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<v Speaker 1>including by the way, TikTok influencers.

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<v Speaker 3>And that is what sets you apart the fact that

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<v Speaker 3>you're building to a new tech stack basically, and a

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<v Speaker 3>decentralized one at that. Frank, what does it mean to

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<v Speaker 3>potentially work with the US government? Would you want to

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<v Speaker 3>have the US government also buying, in fact talking in

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<v Speaker 3>the US government. We're just going to have to listen

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<v Speaker 3>in to President Trump just one moment, Frank, sit with us.

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<v Speaker 3>We were just asking you if you'd work alongside Trump.

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<v Speaker 3>He's thinking about potentially having a US the government own

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<v Speaker 3>a piece of TikTok.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah, we absolutely want to work alongside President Trump,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think he can be very very helpful. I

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<v Speaker 1>do think ultimately the US TikTok is going to be

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of the private sector and totally disentangled

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<v Speaker 1>from the Chinese technology. I think that's really clear in

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<v Speaker 1>the legislation and was made doubly clear. You know on

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<v Speaker 1>pages five, five and six of the Supreme Court decision

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<v Speaker 1>that their Congress is looking for a complete disentanglement. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's Caroline, which puts us in a unique position because

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<v Speaker 1>we have the tech stack. We've been building it for

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<v Speaker 1>the last five years to move the user base and

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<v Speaker 1>the data onto This is.

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<v Speaker 3>A story that will evolve. We thank you so much

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<v Speaker 3>for your patients coming life from Rome. Frank McCourt, executive

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<v Speaker 3>chairman of the Court Global and founder of Project Liberty.

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<v Speaker 3>We hope we will come back as the negotiations continue.