ByteDance signed binding agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX for a majority stake in TikTok’s American operations, resolving years of uncertainty over the platform’s future as the deal prepares to close on January 22, 2026.
CEO Shou Zi Chew outlined the joint venture structure in a Thursday memo to employees. The consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake and Emirati firm MGX will collectively hold 50 percent of the US business, while ByteDance retains 19.9 percent and existing ByteDance investors hold 30.1 percent. Each of the three managing investors will own 15 percent.
The agreement follows legislation passed by Congress in April 2024 requiring TikTok to sell or face a ban in the United States over national security concerns. The original deadline of January 20, 2025 was delayed multiple times as administrations negotiated a resolution.
Oracle will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm under provisions aimed at alleviating concerns about foreign influence over American user data. TikTok pledged to retrain its algorithm on US user data to ensure feed integrity and prevent outside manipulation. The new joint venture will operate as an independent entity controlling data protection, content moderation and algorithm security.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon described the arrangement as insufficient to protect American users’ privacy. He stated uncertainty remains about whether measures will place TikTok’s algorithm in safer hands, warning the deal may fall short of addressing core national security concerns. Wyden voted against the 2024 legislation.
Small business owner Tiffany Cianci, who maintains over 300,000 followers and nearly four million likes on the platform, expressed hope the arrangement will continue supporting small entrepreneurs. She noted TikTok’s profit sharing terms have historically been more favorable than competitors like Meta.
The deal values TikTok’s US operations at approximately 14 billion dollars. Under the arrangement, ByteDance retains roughly 50 percent of profit from TikTok’s US operations according to previous reports. More than seven million US small businesses market their products and services on TikTok.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office keeping TikTok running while his administration negotiated the sale. Trump said in September he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping who approved the deal. The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met in October.
The arrangement mirrors an earlier TikTok Oracle collaboration called Project Texas proposed years ago to address concerns about Chinese ownership. The US government ultimately rejected that partnership as insufficient to address national security issues.
Trump’s executive order states the new TikTok US joint venture will encompass the TikTok app plus ByteDance’s Lemon8 and CapCut applications along with any other application or website operated by the new joint venture. The administration’s non enforcement of the law extends until January 23, 2026.
Chinese regulators have not yet stated whether they will approve the transaction. The terms outlined in the CEO’s memo appear to leave the door open for ByteDance to potentially retain oversight of key parts of US TikTok, an app used by approximately 170 million Americans.
