Can you give an example of how the most eligible buyers might collude in a way that benefits them all equally, so that this would happen?

For me, it's very hard to conceive of any concrete way that would work. It's a brand, some partnerships, and a network of users that would all go to whatever buyer, and would give that buyer a huge benefit over their existing domestic competitors. So under what circumstances would those domestic competitors allow that instead of aggresively trying to secure it for themselves?

I'm open to believing you, I just don't see what you have in mind.

> if US government says who is allowed to buy

It doesn’t. The courts do. TikTok could be sold to a Hungarian businessman. As long as it can’t be proved they aren’t controlled by China, they should be allowed to reënter app stores.

How would that collusion work?