ByteDance strikes deal to spin off TikTok US to American investors

Chinese social media giant TikTok has agreed to sell its US operations to a consortium of American investors, paving the way for the video‑sharing platform to continue operating in the country after years of uncertainty.

According to an internal memo seen by the Associated Press, TikTok parent ByteDance has signed binding agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, with the deal expected to complete on 22 January, drawing to a close a prolonged period of uncertainty over TikTok's future in the US.

Under the terms, a new TikTok US joint venture will be created, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each taking a 15% stake, while a further 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors and ByteDance itself will retain 19.9%.

The US entity will have a seven‑member, American‑majority board and will operate under conditions designed to safeguard US user data and national security. All US data will be stored domestically on systems run by Oracle, while TikTok's algorithm will be retrained on US‑sourced data as part of an effort to prevent external influence.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com