New questions arise over TikTok sale

"When the deal was first announced, many were stunned by the $14 billion price tag. It read like a fire sale, with sources chalking that up to how ByteDance had been put over a barrel by a U.S. law requiring divestiture. But we now know the price wasn't really $14 billion. It was $24 billion."

"For context, a typical M&A banker would take 1% or 2% deal fee. With TikTok, the Treasury Department got over 70%. It's something that likely infuriates ByteDance investors, many of whom are U.S. venture capital firms, even if they got to retain nearly a 20% stake in the carved-out business."

"The U.S. government appears to have extracted billions of dollars from investors and corporations, in exchange for signing off on a private market transaction. Warner yesterday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking about how the fee was determined, approved and how the money would be spent without violating the Anti-Deficiency Act."

Senator Warner questioned Treasury Secretary Bessent about how a substantial fee from the TikTok divestiture deal was determined, approved, and would be spent, citing concerns about the Anti-Deficiency Act. The actual deal value was $24 billion, not the initially reported $14 billion, with Treasury extracting over 70% in fees—dramatically higher than typical M&A banker rates. This arrangement has drawn scrutiny from ByteDance investors, including U.S. venture capital firms, and other bidders questioning deal fairness. Treasury, TikTok, Vice President Vance's office, and deal participants Oracle and Silver Lake have declined to comment, with sources suggesting Freedom of Information Act requests for transparency.

Read at Axios