Investor Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame says he’s ready to pay up to $20 billion to purchase TikTok, the embattled video-sharing app that must find a non-Chinese buyer or face a shutdown.

Mr. O’Leary said he is working with an investor group led by billionaire Frank McCourt Jr., the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and will coordinate with President-elect Donald Trump to land a deal. He said his team was willing to purchase the app without the proprietary algorithm that its China-based owner is determined to keep.

“We’ve got a valid syndicate. We’re prepared to put up as much as $20 billion, and we don’t need the algorithm. We don’t want the algorithm,” Mr. O’Leary told Yahoo! Finance.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a bipartisan 2024 law that requires TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, to find a non-Chinese buyer by Sunday or face a ban in the U.S.

Congress passed the law over concerns that Beijing, through the Chinese company, could pose privacy or national security concerns to U.S. users.

The potential shutdown enraged many of the estimated 170 million-plus U.S. users of the popular app. Mr. Trump said he wants to find a way to save the app.

“Of course, I have to work with Trump. And by the way, I know he feels the same way about it,” Mr. O’Leary said.

Recent reports suggested other billionaire buyers, including X owners and Trump ally Elon Musk, could be in the mix.

The reports said Chinese officials were amenable to selling the app to Mr. Musk.

Mr. O’Leary said an outright ban would devastate ByteDance, so it is in the parent company’s best interest to sell. He thinks he can persuade them.

“I know all the shareholders,” he said. “So does Frank. We know who they are. We’ve known that for two years. I know them personally.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.