TikTok’s US Sale Is Now Official
▼ Summary
– TikTok has finalized a deal to sell its US business, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX acquiring 45% and ByteDance retaining 20%.
– The remaining ownership will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to reports.
– The US-based TikTok will use an algorithm based on ByteDance’s original but retrained on US user data and controlled by Oracle.
– The deal follows a series of extensions granted by the Trump administration to avoid a ban under US law.
– TikTok’s CEO stated the focus remains on serving users, creators, and the global community following the agreement.
The long-anticipated sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations has been officially confirmed, marking a pivotal resolution to the political and regulatory challenges the platform has faced. According to multiple reports, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew informed employees that the transaction will be finalized on January 22nd. The new ownership structure will see a consortium comprising Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX acquiring a 45 percent stake. The platform’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, will retain a 20 percent ownership share.
The remaining portion of the company will be held by affiliates of ByteDance’s current investors. This deal concludes a tumultuous period that began when a U.S. divest-or-ban law took effect, briefly causing the app to go offline in the country earlier this year. The Trump administration granted the company a series of extensions to negotiate a sale of its American assets. A tentative agreement between the U.S. and China in September paved the way for a final extension, which lapsed on December 16th.
In his internal memo, Chew expressed gratitude to employees, stating their work ensures TikTok will continue to operate at peak performance and thrive both in the United States and globally. He emphasized that with these new agreements secured, the company’s focus must remain steadfast on serving its users, content creators, business partners, and the worldwide community.
A critical component of the arrangement involves the algorithm that powers the app’s influential “For You” feed. Reports state the U.S. entity will utilize an algorithm derived from the original ByteDance technology. However, this system will be retrained exclusively on data from American users and will be managed and controlled by Oracle, addressing core national security concerns raised by U.S. officials. The company has not provided an official comment in response to recent media inquiries regarding the finalized deal.
(Source: The Verge)
