TikTok Deal Approved: ByteDance, Oracle, and Global Investors Set to Operate U.S. Business

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has finalized binding agreements with U.S. and global investors to operate its American business, CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees on Thursday.

In an internal memo, TikTok said the deal will allow “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community.”

Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9% of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will each hold 15%. Another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors. The White House previously confirmed that Oracle, co-founded by Trump supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.

The agreement, expected to close on 22 January, ends years of U.S. pressure over national security concerns. The app’s future has faced multiple delays. In April 2024, Congress passed a law banning TikTok unless sold, originally set to take effect on 20 January 2025. The law’s enforcement was repeatedly postponed, including by former President Trump, who negotiated a transfer deal and spoke with China’s President Xi Jinping, who approved the plan.

Despite the leaders’ meetings and ongoing U.S.-China tensions over trade and security, the platform’s future remained uncertain. Alvin Graylin, a lecturer at MIT, said: “TikTok has become a bargaining chip in the wider U.S.-China relationship. With recent softening tensions, Beijing’s sign-off on the structure and algorithm licensing now looks less like capitulation and more like calibrated de-escalation, letting both capitals claim a win at home.”