New details about Khaby Lame's $975 million deal deepen the mystery

Khaby Lame has been pursuing other partnerships as his big payday remains in question.

Simon Galloway/LAT Images Khaby Lame's splashy $975 million deal is still on ice nine months after it was announced.

Lame's plan to merge his business with a publicly traded firm was celebrated by creator economy insiders.

The public company's stock price has fallen 99% since its January high.

A new financial filing provides fresh details — and more questions — about a mysterious $975 million deal struck by TikTok's top star, Khaby Lame .

On January 9, Lame — who has over 160 million followers — entered into an agreement that would theoretically net him a major payday and take his company public.

The mechanism: a merger with the publicly traded Rich Sparkle Holdings , a financial printing firm based in Hong Kong.

Then, in late January, Lame went silent on the merger.

Now, we have an update: the deal is still on ice.

A Rich Sparkle financial filing on September 30, its first since March, described the deal as conditional on a due diligence process, a minimum valuation of Lame's company, and stock exchange approval.

That's the same language that has appeared in previous filings.

While the deal has been in limbo, Rich Sparkle's stock has plummeted 99% from its peak.

In the wake of the announcement of the deal with Lame's company in January, the stock shot up to a high of about $180.

On Thursday, it closed at $1.93.