Oracle and Silver Lake Take Control of TikTok’s US Business

ByteDance has signed a binding agreement to transfer control of TikTok’s US operations to a consortium of predominantly American investors led by Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake, Axios reported, citing an internal company memo. This brings an end to years of regulatory uncertainty around the short-video app.

The deal also includes Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX and will result in the creation of a new US-based entity that will oversee TikTok’s business in the country.

The transaction is expected to close on January 22, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in the memo. The new entity, to be called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be owned 45% by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, while affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold nearly one-third. ByteDance will retain close to a 20% stake.

The joint venture will assume responsibility for US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance. As part of the agreement, Oracle will retrain TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm using US user data to ensure the feed is insulated from external influence, the memo said. 

Oracle will also serve as the trusted security partner, responsible for auditing and validating compliance with national security terms once the deal closes.

Following completion, the US joint venture will operate independently with authority over sensitive US operations, while TikTok’s global entities will continue to manage product interoperability and certain commercial activities such as advertising, marketing and e-commerce.

The deal values TikTok’s US business at around $14 billion, according to a source cited by Axios.

The agreement follows a deal in principle reached in September between the White House and the Chinese government to sell TikTok’s US operations.

Pressure on ByteDance to divest began in 2020, when then-president Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking a sale on national security grounds. Congress later passed legislation in 2024 to ban the app unless it was sold, a law upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year.