American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has agreed in principle to buy Parler, the social media platform popular among US conservatives.
Nashville-based Parler, which has raised about $US56 million ($89 million) to date, said on Tuesday (Australian time) it expected the deal to close during the fourth quarter of 2022.
It did not give a value for the transaction.
Parler, which launched in 2018, has been reinstated on Google and Apple Inc’s app stores after being removed following the US Capitol riots in January 2021.
It is one of several social media platforms, including Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that position themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter.
Last month, Parler created a new parent company, Parlement Technologies, as part of an overhaul.
Parlement Technologies chief executive George Farmer told Reuters the deal talks with Ye began recently, after Paris Fashion Week.
In Paris on October 3, Ye, who is also a fashion designer, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase: “White Lives Matter.”
Four days later, he made Instagram posts that Jewish groups called anti-Semitic. Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, locked Ye out of his Instagram account for the posts.
Ye then moved to Twitter, posting on October 8 for the first time in two years; Twitter soon locked his account.
The Parler deal came together quickly, Mr Farmer said, and Parlement was “presented with an opportunity”.
“The motivating factor with [West] was the discussion about Instagram blocking him,” he said.
Ye seemed to have joined Parler on Monday and had about 91 followers at the time of the announcement. It later rose to 3900.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” he said in a statement.
Farmer said Parler had 16.5 million registered users.
Forbes estimates Ye to have a net worth of $US2 billion ($3.2 billion).
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