I like the simple solution that makes sense, given than Justin is not dumb, and he likes to make money. He also had his infamous dinner with Warren Buffett three weeks ago. Warren also likes to make money, and he's really effin' good at it! Undoubtedly, Justin picked up a tip or two...
Justin Sun buys a stake in Steem/Steemit, Inc. that includes some (give or take) 70M Steem/SP in Steemit, Inc./Ned controlled accounts. Effectively, he's paying about 25c per Steem.
Because Justin is a lot about marketing and making noise, this deal has to be hyped extensively. Perhaps some controversy thrown in, for publicity value.
Justin/TRON throws something like US $25M at Steem development and marketing. 12-18 months and a bunch of innovation later, Steem has become "A Really Big Deal." And is worth $10 per token.
Even after expenses, Justin nets more than half a BILLION dollars on his investment. Which is not exactly chump change...
Agree in general. This is the simplest and most likely outcome. It is profitable for Tron and helps with the visibility.