BANGKOK — A Thai media company has offered to buy the Miss Universe Organization for 3.5 billion baht ($110 million) as the pageant’s current owners face legal and financial turmoil.
Jakkrit Tanee, founder and CEO of TCG Social Media Group Co., said Tuesday his company has submitted an offer to acquire 100% of MUO. He announced the proposal at a press conference in Bangkok, describing it as an effort to “rescue” creditors of JKN Global Group, the Thai firm that owns the pageant.
The offer comes as MUO confronts mounting controversy. On November 25, a Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, the transgender businesswoman and former MUO co-owner, after she failed to appear for a verdict in a fraud case involving 30 million baht (about $930,000).
On November 26, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said Miss Universe President Raul Rocha Cantú is under investigation for alleged links to an organized crime network involved in drug and weapons trafficking and fuel theft.
Financial Motives and Blockchain Plans
Jakkrit said he has “zero experience” in beauty pageants and that the company’s goal is to stabilize MUO’s finances and modernize its operations.
“My sole intention is to manage the finances and bring Miss Universe into the technology era,” he said. “We will make Miss Universe fully blockchain-based.”
Jakkrit said he believes MUO’s 74-year history gives the brand a value that exceeds the proposed purchase price. He also said TCG has backing from investors in the Middle East and the Philippines.
TCG plans to submit a formal proposal to Grant Thornton, the firm managing MUO during JKN’s restructuring process, within seven days. The company expects a response by December 31.
“If they reject the offer, that’s fine—we’ll move on to other projects,” Jakkrit said, adding that Grant Thornton would handle any negotiations involving Rocha Cantú’s shares.
Leadership and Future Vision
If the acquisition succeeds, Jakkrit said his first move would be to issue digital tokens tied to MUO, citing what he called high global demand. He said he intends to keep the organization’s leadership in Thai hands while maintaining its American identity, possibly by appointing an American as president.
He also said he would rely on outside expertise, naming Piyaporn Sankosik of TPN Global and Nawat Itsaragrisil of Miss Grand International as potential advisers.
Jakkrit said he wants to expand the pageant’s focus beyond beauty and reposition contestants as ambassadors working through ESG — environmental, social and governance — principles. He also expressed ambitions to make contestants “wealthy,” citing his past work with Thai entrepreneurs.
“Business is business, but we must come with the intention to help first,” he said. “Today, we’re ready to help—and to take.”
________
