President Donald Trump confirmed a new agreement with China to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., with terms largely matching a deal outlined earlier this year to transfer TikTok’s U.S. assets into a U.S.-owned entity while ByteDance retains a minority stake.
Key facts:
- Trump said “a group of very big companies” are prepared to buy TikTok’s U.S. assets.
- The deal framework mirrors April’s plan to spin off U.S. operations into a new, majority U.S.-owned company.
- ByteDance is expected to keep a 19.9% stake, just under the 20% ownership threshold.
- TikTok U.S. may continue to access ByteDance’s algorithm under licensing terms subject to Chinese export law.
- Technical separation of U.S. user data and app infrastructure is nearly complete, pending final approval.
Relevant Companies
- Oracle ($ORCL): Previously linked to TikTok U.S. ownership bids and cloud partnership discussions.
- Walmart ($WMT): Expressed interest in participating in a TikTok U.S. deal in prior negotiations.
- Microsoft ($MSFT): Explored acquiring TikTok’s U.S. assets during 2020 negotiations, remains a potential suitor.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. This article may be updated as more details become available.
