US President Donald Trump has said prominent billionaires – including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech founder Michael Dell – could be part of a deal in which the US will take control of the social video platform TikTok.

Trump name-dropped the 94-year-old Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp, as part of a group of possible participants in a deal during an interview recorded on Friday and aired on Sunday on Fox News.

“I think they're going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said. “And they're also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they're going to do a really good job.”

Trump's disclosure of the potential involvement of the Murdochs and Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, is the latest twist in a fast-moving potential deal to keep TikTok operating in the US.

Trump also said on Sunday that tech giant Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison was part of the same group. His involvement had been previously disclosed. On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would be responsible for the app's data and security and that Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.

Under the expected deal, TikTok's US assets would be majority-owned by American investors and operated in the United States by a board of directors with national security and cybersecurity credentials, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing a White House official.

ByteDance's current shareholders include Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, and KKR. ByteDance would hold less than 20 percent of the stock of a joint venture controlling TikTok's U.S. operations, the official added.

Trump discussed the TikTok deal with President Xi Jinping in a lengthy phone call on Friday. Chinese and US officials have until December 16 to hash out the details, following the latest deadline extension by the Trump administration.

On Sunday, Trump said that he was “a little prejudiced” about TikTok because he credited the app for helping him connect with young voters. Trump said slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk encouraged the president to use the app. (AP/Reuters)