TikTok to Cede US Control to American Investor Group

TikTok Reaches Agreement on U.S. Operations

An agreement has been finalized whereby TikTok will transfer a considerable portion of its U.S. operations to a consortium of American investors. This resolution concludes a protracted dispute during which the U.S. federal government actively pursued this outcome.

Details of the New Partnership

According to an internal memorandum from ByteDance CEO Shou Chew, reviewed by TechCrunch, the arrangement is structured as a “new TikTok U.S. joint venture.”

This new structure will grant substantial control of the U.S.-based business to prominent American investors. The investor group comprises Oracle, a leading cloud technology company, Silverlake, a private equity firm specializing in technology, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm concentrating on artificial intelligence.

Collectively, these companies will hold a 45% ownership stake in the U.S. operation. ByteDance will maintain a minority share of approximately 20%, as detailed in the memo. The newly established entity resulting from this collaboration is officially named “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.”

Responsibilities of the New Entity

The newly formed entity will assume responsibility for the oversight of the application. This includes crucial areas such as data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance.

“A trusted security partner will be tasked with auditing and validating adherence to the established National Security Terms,” the document specifies. Oracle has been designated as this trusted security partner upon the completion of the transaction.

Timeline and Previous Efforts

The anticipated closing date for this deal is January 22, 2026. This information was initially reported by Axios.

The terms of the agreement, as outlined in the memo, closely mirror the stipulations of an executive order signed by President Trump in September. That order also sanctioned the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American investor group.

CNBC had previously reported that Oracle, Silverlake, and MGX were poised to be the principal investors in the deal. Until now, ByteDance had refrained from disclosing specific details, affirming only its commitment to comply with U.S. law to ensure continued access to TikTok for American users.

National Security Concerns

The U.S. government has consistently aimed to separate TikTok’s U.S. business from its Chinese parent company, citing national security concerns as the primary justification for this action.