Trump signs order for TikTok US sale, cuts ByteDance stake below 20%
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) signed an executive order allowing American investors to buy video-sharing app TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese owner ByteDance, in a $14 billion deal with national security safeguards.
In the order signed at the White House, Trump declared that the deal complies with the 2024 law mandating ByteDance to divest control or face a prohibition in the US, Bloomberg reported. The president also reiterated that he had won approval from his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for the deal.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said: “I had a very good talk with President Xi. We talked about TikTok and other things, but we talked about TikTok, and he gave us the go-ahead.”
According to reports, the deal will spin out TikTok’s US business into a new venture owned mainly by American investors, with ByteDance’s stake reduced to below 20 per cent under national security rules. The sale would also fulfil a campaign promise Trump made in 2024 and ease tensions with China.
TikTok deal details
Trump and several US officials have stressed that the arrangement will safeguard American users’ data, with Oracle Corp tasked to store information securely in the cloud and help the new TikTok entity shield its recommendation software from foreign influence.
Despite Trump’s endorsement, the deal still faces uncertainty as China has yet to confirm its approval. Responding to Trump’s remarks, the Chinese Embassy in Washington reiterated its earlier statement: “The US side needs to provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors.”
Key aspects of the deal remain unclear, including the buyer group’s final composition. Oracle, Silver Lake Management LLC, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX are reportedly in talks to invest in TikTok US and secure board seats, though discussions are still under way.
Another open question is valuation. US Vice President JD Vance, who helped shape the deal, said the new US venture would be worth about $14 billion, adding: “Ultimately, the investors are going to make the determination about what they want to invest in and what they think is the proper value.”
Trump’s order gives the parties 120 days to close the deal, marking the fifth deadline extension. The transaction is now expected to be finalised by January, nearly a year after the law came into effect.
Under the deal, the US-based TikTok entity would lease a copy of ByteDance’s algorithm, which would be retrained “from the ground up” under Oracle’s supervision. Oracle would review the retrained system and monitor its content delivery to prevent malicious use or foreign influence, a US official said.
Background
Former president Joe Biden had signed a bipartisan law requiring TikTok to either sell its US business to an American entity or face a nationwide ban amid data security concerns. While ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, the company got relief after Trump took office in 2024. He asked the Supreme Court to pause the ban, giving ByteDance time to find a US buyer.
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