The deal, backed by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, is expected to close on January 22
Oracle-led managing investors will control 45 per cent of the new TikTok USDS joint venture
TikTok will retrain its US recommendation algorithm using domestic data, with Oracle overseeing data security
TikTok, which has become a hot topic in the US market, seems to be nearing the end of its long-running ownership saga. The social media company seems to be in the final stage of selling its US operations to a new investor-led joint venture and it could be done as soon as next month. This comes after an Axios report stated that TikTok has reached an agreement to transfer its US business to a newly formed entity backed by Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX. The transaction is expected to close on January 22.
SurveyTikTok CEO Shou Chew has confirmed the development in an internal memo to employees, as cited by an Axios report. After completion, the deal would conclude a series of negotiations that began in 2020 during the Trump administration, intensified following the passage of the divest or ban law in 2024 under President Joe Biden and continued through 2025 amid repeated enforcement delays.
As per the proposed structure, the US operations will be housed under TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The details, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Oracle, Silver Lake and MGC will act as managing investors and together hold a 45 per cent stake in the entire new identity. Further, the report also stated that an additional 5 per cent will be owned by the new investors while affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold just over 30 per cent. ByteDance itself will retain a minority stake of just under 20 percent.
As part of the agreement, TikTok’s recommendation algorithm for US users will be retrained with domestic user data, aiming to alleviate concerns about foreign influence and content manipulation. Under the new agreement, Oracle will also be responsible for overseeing data security and protecting US user information.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
