Trump administration set to receive $13b fee for brokering TikTok deal, WSJ reports

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s administration is set to receive a roughly US$10 billion (S$13 billion) fee from investors in the recently completed deal to take control of TikTok’s US business, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on March 13, citing people familiar with the matter.

TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, in January finalised a deal to establish a majority American-owned joint venture that will secure US data, to avoid a US ban on the short video app used by over 200 million Americans.

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will secure US user data, apps and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures. It disclosed few details about the divestiture.

Vice-President J.D. Vance had in September said that the new US company will be valued at around US$14 billion.

The payment is part of the agreement through which investors friendly with the administration gained control of TikTok’s US operations from ByteDance, WSJ said. It is on top of the investments already made to establish a new entity to operate the app in the US.

Investors Oracle, Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and other backers paid about US$2.5 billion to the Treasury Department when the deal closed and are to make a number of subsequent payments until the total reaches US$10 billion, per the Journal.

TikTok and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Officials from the administration have said the fee is justified, citing Mr Trump’s role in rescuing TikTok’s US operations and guiding negotiations with China to complete the deal while tackling lawmakers’ concerns over national security, according to WSJ.

Earlier in March, Mr Trump and US Attorney-General Pam Bondi were sued by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture. REUTERS