TikTok has signed binding agreements to sell a controlling stake in its U.S. business to a consortium of investors — including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX — forming a new U.S. joint venture to run the platform’s American operations.
The new company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be majority-American owned, with U.S. data storage, content moderation and algorithm security overseen domestically to satisfy national security requirements and avoid a U.S. ban.
ByteDance will retain a minority stake under U.S. law, with the transaction expected to close by January 22, 2026, ending years of regulatory uncertainty and legislative pressure.
TikTok, the massively popular short-video platform used by more than 170 million Americans, has signed binding agreements to divest a controlling share of its U.S. business to a consortium of predominantly American and allied investors, according to various media reports.
The deal, announced internally to employees Thursday and expected to be completed by January 22, 2026, creates a new entity — TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC — that will operate TikTok’s U.S. platform under heightened oversight of data security, content moderation and algorithm governance.
The reported deal would secure TikTok’s presence in the U.S. after Congress passed legislation to ban it unless its China-based owner relinquished control.
New ownership structure
Under the terms of the agreement:
A group led by Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will collectively hold roughly 50 % of the new U.S. venture’s equity.
ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, will retain a 19.9 % stake — the cap permitted under U.S. foreign-ownership restrictions — while existing ByteDance investors will hold about 30.1 %.
A majority-American board of directors will govern the U.S. entity, and Oracle is set to serve as a trusted security partner responsible for storing U.S. user data on local infrastructure.
Addressing national security concerns
The restructuring directly responds to bipartisan U.S. concerns that TikTok’s Chinese ownership could pose risks to national security and user privacy — arguments that have propelled legislative and regulatory action for years. Under a 2024 law, commonly known as the divest-or-ban requirement, TikTok faced a potential nationwide prohibition unless it severed control by its foreign parent company.
As part of the new arrangement, TikTok’s recommendation algorithm will be retrained on U.S. user data to further insulate it from foreign influence — a major sticking point throughout negotiations.
The finalized deal closes a chapter of uncertainty for TikTok in the U.S., where the app has been intermittently threatened with removal since national security concerns first bubbled into public view more than five years ago. Previous presidential administrations and Congress have repeatedly pushed for divestiture, leading to multiple deadline extensions and intense negotiation between Washington and Beijing.
