Reports from the Associated Press and additional sources indicate that TikTok has finalized an agreement to separate its US operations, ensuring the social media platform's continued presence in the American market and resolving prolonged uncertainties.
Recent updates reveal key elements of the arrangement, with approximately half of the assets divided among three firms. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are set to hold about 15 percent each in the restructured organization. Notably, MGX operates as the state-backed investment entity from Abu Dhabi, with no US base.
The remaining shares will stay connected to entities linked to TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, which is slated for a roughly 20 percent ownership position. Oversight of US activities will fall to a board comprising seven directors, the majority of whom are US citizens.
American user information will be housed within infrastructure managed by Oracle, led by Larry Ellison, a longtime supporter of former President Trump who previously discussed strategies to challenge the 2020 election results. Oracle has pursued involvement in TikTok since at least 2020. Meanwhile, Silver Lake maintains strong connections to figures close to Trump, including Michael Dell and Jared Kushner, Dell's son-in-law.
According to an internal communication from TikTok CEO Shou Chew, the transaction is projected to conclude on January 22. In the message to staff, he emphasized, 'With these agreements in place, our focus must stay where it’s always been — firmly on delivering for our users, creators, businesses and the global TikTok community.'
Should the agreement be completed next month, it would follow by slightly more than a year the initial executive action by Trump to postpone enforcement of legislation mandating the app's divestiture to avert a prohibition, along with multiple subsequent postponements he authorized.