TikTok deal: ByteDance sells majority stake in US operation to non-Chinese investors to avoid ban
The parent company of TikTok has finalized a deal to sell off a majority stake in its U.S. operations to non-Chinese investors, allowing the company to continue to operate in America and finally escape the threat of a looming ban.
Under the deal, tech giant Oracle, Emirati state-backed investment firm MGX, and U.S. investment firm Silver Lake will each possess 15 percent of a new joint venture. Other backers include the investment firm of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, retains a 19.9 percent stake in the new firm, which is officially called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
As part of the deal, U.S. user data will be protected in Oracle’s secure U.S. cloud environment, TikTok wrote on its website, assuaging domestic concerns over China’s potential influence over the app. The new company will also retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data.
U.S. users will still be able to interact with global TikTok users, the company said.
U.S. and Chinese officials have signed off on the agreement, a White House official told NBC News.
In September, President Trump announced a tentative deal between Washington and Beijing had been reached over the fate of TikTok, as the two countries squared off in trade negotiations.
That month, Trump also signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of a previously passed U.S. TikTok ban for 120 days to allow time for the deal to be finalized.
The order marked the fourth time extended a looming deadline under the legislation for TikTok to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
