TikTok finalizes agreement to separate U.S. operations from Chinese parent company
TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has struck a deal to create a predominantly US-owned joint venture to oversee the platform’s American business, avoiding a ban that could have cut off its 200 million US users.
The arrangement establishes TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with American and global investors controlling 80.1 per cent and ByteDance holding the remaining 19.9 per cent. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will each take 15 per cent stakes as managing investors.
The deal settles a standoff that began in August 2020, when Trump initially moved to block TikTok over national security concerns.
Lawmakers passed a bill in April 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell its US assets or face prohibition, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2025. Enforcement was subsequently postponed while talks continued.
Reuters reported that both US and Chinese governments have signed off on the agreement. President Donald Trump praised the outcome on social media, writing that TikTok “will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World.” He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping “for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.”
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