US President Donald Trump has triumphantly announced that TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. have finally reached a deal to transfer parts of their US operations to American investors, ensuring the popular video app's future in the US and narrowly avoiding a nationwide ban.
The social media giant has officially set up a US entity with three managing investors: Oracle Corp., private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC, and Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX, reports Yahoo Finance.
TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew will retain his position running ByteDance's most valuable asset globally and secure a seat on the board. Adam Presser, formerly TikTok's head of operations, trust, and safety, will now take the reins of the American venture as CEO.
Read more: Greenland savages Trump in viral video - 'US is a joke'
Read more: Trump hints at saving TikTok and reveals date he and Xi Jinping will talk
In a Truth Social post, Trump expressed his delight, saying, "I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice."
He also extended his gratitude to Chinese President Xi, adding, "I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal. He could have gone the other way, but didn't, and is appreciated for his decision."
The TikTok sale brings to a close a yearslong geopolitical and regulatory tug-of-war that, for half a decade, has threatened to shut down TikTok in the US over national security concerns.
Congress originally passed legislation in 2024 to ban the app unless ByteDance sold TikTok, citing fears that the Chinese government could abuse US user data or use the app to push narratives favored by Beijing. TikTok has consistently maintained that neither has occurred.
The venture's valuation remains murky, but US Vice President JD Vance has mentioned a price tag of around $14 billion. In the past, the worth of TikTok's American business – which encompasses advertising, e-commerce, and live-streaming – has been estimated at $35 billion to $50 billion. A deal was initially supposed to be done by January 2025 to avoid a ban, but US President Donald Trump granted several deadline extensions to give TikTok more time to reach an agreement.
The resolution, years after a potential ban was first discussed, is a victory for small businesses, big brands, and content creators whose livelihoods depend on TikTok, as well as for the roughly 200 million US users who flock to the app each month for news and entertainment. Under the arrangement – originally announced by the Trump administration in September – new investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will own 50% of the new TikTok US entity. Existing ByteDance investors will control 30.1%, and ByteDance 19.9%, in accordance with the law.
The new entity will be responsible for moderating content on TikTok and protecting US users' data. It will be governed by a new, seven-member majority-American board. Oracle, already a longtime TikTok cloud computing partner, will serve as a security guard charged with ensuring TikTok is following the law.
The deal the White House put forward allows ByteDance to lease a copy of its content algorithm to the forthcoming US TikTok entity, retraining the new algorithm on US user data. ByteDance is also expected to maintain control over valuable parts of its US TikTok business, including its advertising division and fast-growing e-commerce arm TikTok Shop.
