ByteDance reaches deal to sell majority of TikTok’s U.S. operations to Oracle-led consortium

ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has signed binding agreements to sell just over 80% of the company’s U.S. assets to American and global investors, including Oracle, in a move that would form a U.S. joint venture and is intended to avert a potential government ban. The deal, disclosed to employees on Thursday, is the latest step in a years-long effort to resolve national-security concerns surrounding the popular video app and its data practices for American users. If completed as planned, it would allow tens of millions of Americans to continue accessing TikTok while giving U.S. investors a significant stake and oversight in the operation.

The binding agreements were signed with three managing investors—Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi–based MGX—to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The move aligns with expectations outlined in September and comes as Washington had pressed ByteDance to divest its U.S. assets amid concerns over data security and potential influence by a foreign owner. The memo indicated the deal is set to close on Jan. 22 and would enable a framework in which U.S. data governance and oversight could be more directly implemented by American and global investors.

According to the memo, the U.S. joint venture will be structured with a mix of ownership among new and existing investors. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will collectively own 45% of the new entity. More specifically, the venture would be 50% held by a consortium of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, with 15% allocated to each of those three partners. ByteDance would retain 19.9% of the venture, while the remaining stake—30.1%—would be held by affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors. In other words, the arrangement would give a broad base of U.S. and other global investors a meaningful stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations while preserving a minority stake for ByteDance.

The executives stressed that the deal is designed to satisfy U.S. divestiture requirements and to address national-security concerns that have lingered since TikTok’s rise outside the United States. The plan would allow the roughly 170 million Americans who use TikTok to maintain access to the service while subjecting the platform to enhanced governance and oversight under new ownership. Oracle declined to comment on the agreements, and the White House referred questions to TikTok. ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment.

The announcement comes after years of uncertainty about TikTok’s future in the U.S. dating to August 2020, when former President Donald Trump sought to ban the app unless ByteDance divested it, citing national-security concerns over data access by a foreign competitor. A series of regulatory and political developments since then had kept the app in a precarious position, with enforcement negotiations proceeding in parallel with ongoing discussions about data localization, storage, and access controls.

The deal would come as U.S. policymakers continue to scrutinize app-store practices, data flows, and the broader implications of AI-enabled content platforms. Supporters of the agreement say it could provide a model for how foreign-owned tech platforms can operate in the United States with robust U.S.-based governance structures, while critics argue that a minority stake for ByteDance could still leave questions about decision-making and data handling unresolved. In practice, the arrangement would give the new investors a direct role in U.S. data governance and security protocols, help ensure compliance with U.S. law, and potentially shape moderation and content-curation practices for American users.

TikTok has long argued that it operates with independent governance in the United States and that data on American users is stored domestically or in locations under U.S. jurisdiction. The company has also pursued other measures, including local data centers and increased transparency into content-moderation policies, as part of broader efforts to reassure policymakers about data security and user privacy. The current deal would put much of those protection mechanisms under the oversight of the new joint venture and its investors, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake and a say in strategic matters.

Analysts say the proposed ownership split could provide a pathway for continued access to the U.S. market while addressing concerns about foreign-control risk. If the transaction proceeds, the deal would likely require regulatory approvals from U.S. antitrust authorities and national-security reviews, along with customary closing conditions. Observers note that even with the binding agreements, execution could hinge on satisfying a range of legal and regulatory hurdles, and remains subject to due diligence, approvals, and potential changes in policy environments.

The move also highlights how technology platforms are increasingly bundled into broader geopolitical considerations, with investors from diverse regions participating in complex ownership structures intended to balance innovation with security and governance interests. As the deal progresses, further details about data safeguards, cross-border data transfers, and control over operational decisions are expected to emerge through regulatory filings and company communications.

For users, the practical impact will depend on how the joint venture manages data-security commitments and how governance is implemented in practice. The partnership could translate into more explicit accountability mechanisms, tighter controls over data access, and clearer delineations of which entities can influence platform policies in the United States. Yet the ultimate effect on features, content policies, or algorithmic transparency remains to be seen and will likely unfold as the venture takes shape and regulatory requirements are fleshed out.

As the parties push toward a January close, observers will be watching for how the new ownership structure affects the platform’s strategic direction, data governance, and responsiveness to U.S. regulatory expectations. The departure of ByteDance from a controlling stake in U.S. operations would mark a significant moment in the ongoing balancing act between technology innovation, user access, and national-security concerns in the AI-enabled era.