By Clare Duffy, NCS
New York (NCS) — TikTok has signed the deal backed by President Donald Trump to spin off its US belongings to create a brand new entity with a group of principally American buyers, CEO Shou Chew informed staff in a memo Thursday.
Although the transaction will not be but full, the transfer brings TikTok one step nearer to securing its long-term future in the United States. It comes after a legislation handed final yr required that the US model of the app be spun off from its dad or mum firm, ByteDance, or be banned in the United States. Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement of the legislation as he pursued a deal to switch management of the common app to American possession.
“We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community,” Chew mentioned in his memo, which was obtained by NCS. An individual acquainted with the firm confirmed the memo’s accuracy.
Axios first reported the settlement.
TikTok declined to touch upon the memo.
Under the settlement, the US TikTok app can be managed by a brand new three way partnership, 50% of which can be owned by a consortium of buyers comprised of tech firm Oracle, non-public fairness agency Silver Lake and Emirati-backed funding agency MGX. Just over 30% of the three way partnership can be held by “affiliates of certain existing investors in ByteDance” and 19.9% can be retained by ByteDance, in accordance to Chew’s memo.
Chew mentioned in his memo that there’s extra work to be completed earlier than the deal is finalized, however the events are transferring towards an in depth by January 22, 2026. ByteDance and TikTok each agreed to the phrases of the deal, he mentioned.
The Trump administration said in September that it had reached a deal with China to switch management of TikTok’s US operations to a group of principally American buyers. The president signed an executive order stating that the deal constitutes a certified divestiture and delaying enforcement of the ban-or-sale legislation for 120 days to enable for the transaction’s closure.
The US legislation, which technically went into impact in January, bans TikTok except ByteDance divests roughly 80% of its US belongings to non-Chinese buyers.
The new entity will retrain TikTok’s algorithm on US consumer information and Oracle will oversee storage of Americans’ information, as White House officers beforehand mentioned. The US three way partnership can even be liable for content material moderation for US customers. However, Chew’s memo means that the ByteDance-controlled international TikTok entity will proceed to handle e-commerce, promoting and advertising on the new US platform.
The deal is predicted to want approval from the Chinese authorities earlier than closing. While Trump has mentioned Chinese President Xi Jinping is on board with the deal, Beijing has not formally confirmed his approval. The deal can be anticipated to require regulatory approvals from each nations.
This story has been up to date with further particulars and context.
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