ByteDance partners Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX to run TikTok’s US app

• American and global investors will hold 80.1% of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with ByteDance retaining 19.9% post-divestiture.
• Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will collectively own 45%, while affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1%.
• ByteDance will appoint one of seven directors; US representatives will hold the remaining majority of board seats.

ByteDance said it has signed binding agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX to create a new joint venture that will operate TikTok’s US app, aiming to satisfy divestiture requirements and avert a ban affecting more than 170 million American users.

Under the structure outlined in an employee memo, American and global investors will hold 80.1 per cent of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with ByteDance retaining 19.9 per cent post-divestiture. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will collectively own 45 per cent, while affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1 per cent. ByteDance will appoint one of seven directors; US representatives will hold the remaining majority of board seats.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the venture will operate as an independent entity with authority over US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance. Oracle will act as the “trusted security partner,” auditing compliance and hosting sensitive US user data in its US-based cloud.

Unanswered questions remain

The agreement tracks terms previewed in September, when President Donald Trump delayed enforcement of a 2024 law that would have required TikTok to cease operations by January 19 unless a divestiture was completed.

The deal is slated to close January 22. While the White House has said the JV will run the US app, questions remain over the arrangement, including TikTok global’s continued management of product interoperability and certain commercial activities such as e-commerce, advertising and marketing.

The move marks a milestone in a multi-year saga that began with Trump’s unsuccessful 2020 attempt to ban the app. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticised the agreement as a “billionaire takeover” and called for transparency around any backdoor terms. Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, has said he plans a 2026 hearing with the JV’s leadership.