President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, outlining his plan to transfer TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese ownership to American and global investors. The move, he said, fulfills national security requirements under a 2024 law mandating the sale.
Vice President JD Vance said the new U.S.-based company will be valued at about $14 billion—well below analyst estimates of TikTok’s worth.
Trump also delayed until January 20 enforcement of the law that bans TikTok unless its U.S. assets are sold. The extension allows time to secure investors, finalize the transfer, and obtain approval from Beijing.
The order marks progress in reshaping TikTok’s ownership, though questions remain—particularly over how the new entity will handle TikTok’s prized recommendation algorithm. According to Trump, the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by U.S. security partners, remaining under the control of the new joint venture.
“We wanted to keep TikTok operating while protecting Americans’ data privacy,” Vance said. Trump added that Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled support for the deal following a direct conversation.
Trump has acknowledged TikTok’s role in his reelection campaign and has 15 million followers on the platform. The White House also recently launched an official TikTok account.
“This will be American-operated all the way,” Trump said, naming Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and several “world-class investors” as participants in the deal.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, currently values itself at more than $330 billion, far above TikTok’s $14 billion valuation in the agreement. Analysts at Wedbush Securities had earlier estimated TikTok could be worth $30–40 billion without its algorithm.
Oracle, Silver Lake Among Key Investors
Two sources familiar with the deal said Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake will take a combined 50% stake in TikTok U.S. ByteDance’s existing investors, including Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, and KKR, will retain about 30%. Abu Dhabi-based MGX is also reported to be part of the investment group.
ByteDance will hold less than 20% of TikTok U.S. to comply with the 2024 law, which ordered the app banned by January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold. A senior White House official said the new company will have a seven-member board—six Americans and one appointee from ByteDance.
Republican lawmakers stressed the need for strict safeguards. “As the details are finalized, we must ensure this deal protects American users from CCP-aligned influence,” said Representatives Brett Guthrie, Gus Bilirakis, and Richard Hudson.
Neither TikTok nor the Chinese embassy in Washington immediately commented. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX also declined to respond to requests for comment.
Source: Reuters
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