Trump Approves $14 Billion Deal Giving U.S. Investors Control Over TikTok While Parent Company Retains Minority Stake

Trump Approves $14 Billion Deal Giving U.S. Investors Control Over TikTok While Parent Company Retains Minority Stake

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday approving a deal that will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States under new ownership.

 

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The arrangement values TikTok’s U.S. business at $14 billion, according to Vice President JD Vance.

The deal creates a new joint venture where American investors will hold the majority. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund are leading the investment, claiming a 45% stake.

ByteDance, the app’s Chinese parent company, will retain under 20%, pending approval from the Chinese government.

“This is going to be American operated all the way,” Trump said at the signing. “It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans.”
Trump also noted Oracle’s Larry Ellison is heavily involved. “His company is playing a very big part,” he said.

Although ByteDance has not acknowledged the transaction and no company officials attended the signing, Trump claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the deal. Vance added, “The Chinese government put up some resistance before the agreement.”

Under the terms, Oracle will handle TikTok’s U.S. security infrastructure and continue providing cloud services.

Several existing ByteDance investors, including General Atlantic, Sequoia, and Susquehanna, are expected to invest in the new entity.

TikTok’s U.S. operations were previously valued between $30 billion and $35 billion, while ByteDance was recently valued at $330 billion.

The federal government will not take an ownership stake or a “golden share” in the business. Trump also mentioned Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and Michael Dell as possible players in the ownership mix.

Last week’s executive order extended ByteDance’s deadline to divest and blocks enforcement of national security restrictions until December 16, giving time for the deal to close and avoid penalties.

What are your thoughts on the TikTok deal?

? CNBC