TikTok Signs Deal To Form U.S. Joint Venture With American Investors
TikTok has signed a deal to create a new U.S. joint venture that will be controlled primarily by American investors, marking a major step toward resolving years of political and legal uncertainty surrounding the platform. The agreement was detailed in an internal memo from TikTok CEO Shou Chew that was obtained by ABC News.
The move follows a law passed by Congress last year that mandates a ban on TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its U.S. operations. Under the new arrangement, investors including Oracle Corporation, Silver Lake, and MGX will take significant ownership stakes, allowing TikTok to continue operating for its more than 170 million American users.
Chew said in the memo that while the deal represents meaningful progress, more work remains ahead of a planned closing date of January 22, 2026. He described the agreement as a way to preserve TikTok’s role as a global community while meeting U.S. national security requirements.
According to the memo, Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will each own 15 percent of the new U.S. entity. ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent stake, while affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1 percent. MGX is based in the United Arab Emirates. Oracle and Silver Lake declined to comment on the deal.
The memo states that the joint venture will be governed by a seven member board with a majority of American directors and will oversee data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance in the United States. Oracle will serve as the trusted security partner, responsible for auditing and validating compliance with national security requirements.
Privacy and free speech advocates have raised concerns about the concentration of media influence among some of the investors involved. Axios first reported the signing of the deal.
In September, the White House outlined a framework agreement indicating that a copy of TikTok’s algorithm would be housed in the United States and overseen by Oracle, a move aimed at satisfying both U.S. and Chinese regulations.
