A TikTok suitor from Wyoming has put in a $47.45 billion bid to not only keep the popular social media app in America, but bring it to the Cowboy State.
Casper native and Wyoming businessman Reid Rasner, 40, confirmed his bid and told Cowboy State Daily that his offer is about much more than making just another tech deal.
“It’s a jobs engine,” Rasner said Thursday morning. “And we’re going to bring TikTok’s headquarters to Wyoming. We’re going to tap our energy and create thousands of high-paying jobs.”
Rasner said he agreed that TikTok’s connection to China through its owner, ByteDance, is problematic, but said he has engineers working to take over the social media’s algorithm to completely cut China off from Day One of owning the app.
“Fears aside, we’re working overnight 24/7 to get this done and protect national security interests,” he said. “TikTok’s got 170 million American users. It’s a cultural giant, and I’m buying it to keep it out of foreign hands and make it a win for the United States of America. That’s what’s really going on here.”
Rasner would not say whether his deal includes any potential U.S. government ownership, as President Donald Trump has suggested in public remarks.
“Our primary focus is ensuring that this acquisition serves American interests, removes China completely, and strengthens our national position,” he said. ‘We’re committed to being a great partner to the White House and President Trump in achieving these goals, and we welcome all angles of discussion as we move forward with this process.”
Rasner did say he believes he’s in a good negotiating position.
“There’s only one person in the world who can get this across the finish line, and you’re talking to him,” he said. “I can’t talk about the particulars of the negotiations happening now, but we’re very confident moving forward.”
Tick-Tock, TikTok, Tick-Tock
Things are on a strict timeline, Rasner added, referring to a 75-day window that’s been counting down since Jan. 20 to keep the social media platform in America.
Congress passed legislation last year banning the app, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law last April. The ban was later upheld by the Supreme Court against challenges that it would violate the First Amendment.
The app did go dark for one night Jan. 19, but incoming President Donald Trump put the ban on pause with an executive order on Day One of his administration.
That kicked off a flurry of offers to buy the popular social media app, including Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, James “Jimmy” Donaldson (MrBeast), Project Liberty Founder Frank McCourt and Oracle’s chief technology officer and cofounder, Larry Ellison.
Oracle already provides the foundation of TikTok’s web infrastructure.
Rasner said he isn’t worried about any of his competitors.
“Competition is a good thing,” he said. “We have the strongest and we have the best offer. So really, we don’t have competition in this.
“We’re moving forward, we’re confident, and we have the commitments in our funding. We’re ready to pull the trigger, go into the next phase and begin our due diligence process.”
Who's Rasner?
Rasner is a fourth-generation Wyomingite who recalls his experience in the business world as a job sweeping floors at Wyoming Glass when he was 13.
The money he earned from that job went to buying a bicycle, but his later earnings went into the stock market.
The Casper native graduated from University of Wyoming with an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in history, but today he is CEO and founder of wealth management firm Omnivest Financial, which serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Rasner challenged U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyoming last year in the primary.
While Rasner didn’t beat Barrasso, he said he hopes Wyomingites will be excited by his effort to bring TikTok to Wyoming.
“Wyoming should be rooting for this, because this is bigger than anything that’s ever happened,” he said. “It’s going to be an economic boom unlike anything we’ve seen in this state, and it’s going to supplement our already amazing energy, agricultural, and tourism industries.”
TikTok Already Integral To Some Wyoming Businesses
TikTok already has a huge economic impact in Wyoming, according to figures shared with Cowboy State Daily by the company. It contributed $38 million to GDP annually and supports 410 jobs, as well as generating $9 million in federal, state and local tax revenue.
One Wyoming business that has used TikTok successfully is Jackson dogsledding company Call of the Wyld.
It’s definitely our largest platform, co-owner Abby Tarver told Cowboy State Daily in previous interviews.
At first, Tarver thought the platform was just a fad.
“I always joked, like, ‘I’m gonna be TikTok famous, right? And I don’t label myself as that, but it has been pretty fun how wide of a reach it has given us,” she said.
That reach has brought her a community of people from across the nation. Some of them might never come to Jackson for a sled dog tour, Tarver acknowledged, but for others, she’s been told it was a deciding factor.
“Social media has helped, obviously, with us being such a seasonal business,” she said. “It’s helping us make a little bit of money in summer and year-round, by just having a social media following and doing brand deals. It’s not a crazy amount of money, but it helps even things out.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
