TikTok announces it has finalized deal to establish US entity, sidestepping ban

"TikTok announced on Thursday that it had closed a deal to establish a new US entity, allowing it to sidestep a ban and ending a long legal battle. The deal finalized by ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, sets up a majority American-owned venture, with investors including Larry Ellison's Oracle, the private-equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi's MGX owning 80.1% of the new entity, while ByteDance will own 19.9%."

"The announcement comes five years after Donald Trump first threatened to ban the popular platform in the US during his first term. TikTok's future in the US had been unclear, a saga that began after Congress overwhelmingly voted to pass a law banning the social media app in 2024 unless it found a US buyer. The supreme court upheld the law in January 2025, but on Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order postponing the ban."

"In September, Trump signed another executive order, which outlined a plan for US investors to take over the majority of the company's operations and for the new version of TikTok to be controlled by a seven-member, majority-American board of directors of cybersecurity and national security experts. Adam Presser, who previously served as TikTok's general manager and global head of operations and trust and safety, would serve as CEO of the new venture, the company said on Thursday."

TikTok closed a deal creating a new U.S. entity majority-owned by American investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi's MGX, which together hold 80.1% while ByteDance retains 19.9%. The agreement ends a five-year saga that began after Congress moved to ban the app in 2024 and after the Supreme Court upheld that law in January 2025. Trump postponed the ban via executive orders and later outlined a plan for U.S. investors to assume majority control and a seven-member, majority-American security-focused board. Adam Presser will serve as CEO, the board will include Shou Chew, and the U.S. entity will implement data, algorithm, moderation and software safeguards; the recommendation algorithm will be retrained on U.S. user data.

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