Chinese parent company ByteDance to retain 20% ownership
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TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with three major investors to sell just over 80% of the platform’s US operations to American and international investors. This is intended to prevent the app from being banned by the US government.
The investor group consists of Oracle, tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi–based investment company MGX. Together, these companies will own 45% of TikTok’s US operation, while Chinese parent company ByteDance will retain around 20%. The new entity is called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.
This new joint venture will be responsible for key elements of the TikTok app in the US, such as data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software security.
The deal is scheduled to be completed on 22 January 2026. Many of the arrangements appear to align with what was previously set out in an executive order, in which President Donald Trump in September approved the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a group of American investors.
The signing marks an important step towards resolving years of uncertainty over the future of the popular video app in the United States.
Business AM