Murdoch in US buyer group for TikTok, says Trump

Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are expected to be part of the US consortium acquiring TikTok, Donald Trump has claimed.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, the US president said the Murdochs will join billionaire tycoons Larry Ellison and Michael Dell in buying the video app from its Chinese owners ByteDance.

When asked about who will be part of the TikTok consortium, Mr Trump said: “I hate to tell you this – a man named Lachlan is involved. You know who Lachlan is? That’s a very unusual name, Lachlan Murdoch.”

He then added: “Rupert is probably gonna be in the group, I think they’re gonna be in the group, a couple of others. Really great people. Very prominent people. And they’re also American patriots, they love this country, so I think they’re gonna do a really good job.”

The Murdochs’ involvement will likely see their Fox Corp media conglomerate take part in the consortium, according to CNN, rather than Rupert and Lachlan investing as individuals.

Mr Trump’s proposed deal for TikTok has been struck to prevent the social media app from being banned across the United States.

Congress has already outlawed the app owing to national security concerns, although Mr Trump has repeatedly pushed back the ban.

The White House on Saturday said it expected to complete the takeover of TikTok “in the coming days”. This came after Mr Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to rubber stamp the deal.

TikTok itself is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, with more than 130 million users in the US and over one billion users worldwide.

Mr Trump has revealed details of the US consortium just months after launching a $10bn libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owners owner Rupert Murdoch.

This is in relation to an article that published details of a lewd birthday card that Mr Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

Other members of the consortium include Mr Ellison, the founder of software company Oracle Corporation and the world’s richest man, and Mr Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies and the 11th richest person in the world.

Both have fortunes of $370bn (£274bn) and $140bn respectively.

NewsCorp was contacted for comment.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.