President Donald Trump issued a 75-day extension to the deadline requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations, opening a new window of opportunity for private equity firms and other U.S.-based investors to structure a potential acquisition.

The extension, announced through a new executive order late Friday, delays the enforcement of the original August directive, which had given ByteDance 45 days to sell or face a nationwide ban. The order reaffirms U.S. national security concerns surrounding TikTok’s Chinese ownership and potential data access by Beijing.

Private equity players such as Blackstone, Andreessen Horowitz, General Atlantic, and Susquehanna International Group have all been linked to ongoing efforts to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets through various consortium structures. The extension gives these bidders more time to perform due diligence, secure regulatory alignment, and formalise potential offers.

The delay offers much-needed runway for private capital to structure a compliant transaction capable of alleviating political scrutiny while retaining TikTok’s core technological capabilities. In some proposed scenarios, ByteDance would retain ownership of TikTok’s algorithms while limiting access to sensitive U.S. user data.

Private equity’s interest in the transaction reflects the sector’s growing role in high-stakes, cross-border technology deals—particularly those involving digital infrastructure and user data governance. The U.S. administration’s flexibility on timing underscores the importance it places on finding a secure and strategically viable ownership structure.