Key Points:

• Trump indicated he might extend the TikTok sale deadline of April 5 if no agreement is reached.
• There has been significant interest from potential buyers since the initial deal timeline was set.
• China's approval is seen as crucial to any successful sale process.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would “probably” extend the April 5 deadline for the sale or potential ban of the popular video-sharing app TikTok if a deal is not finalized. During a press briefing in the Oval Office, he remarked that there is “a lot of interest” in TikTok, stating, "We have a lot of interest in TikTok. China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal."

This potential deadline extension comes after Congress set a previous deadline of January 19, which briefly took TikTok offline under national security concerns. After this, Trump implemented a 75-day extension for ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, allowing further negotiations for its sale. Trump mentioned that he could only extend the deadline legally if there is evidence of ongoing sale negotiations by ByteDance according to the South China Morning Post.

Numerous buyers, including well-known figures like YouTube star MrBeast and potential joint bids from Frank McCourt and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok’s US operations per The Hill. However, uncertainty still looms due to the requirement for the Chinese government’s approval on any prospective sale, which has reported a shifting stance lately.

As Trump stated, the official deadline is still about a month away, allowing for the negotiation space and potential for a successful agreement. Further updates on this situation are anticipated as the April deadline approaches.

For more details, visit the original articles from Forbes, South China Morning Post, and The Hill.