US and China reach $14 billion deal to transfer TikTok control to Oracle-led group

The US and Chinese governments have finalized an agreement to transfer control of TikTok’s American operations to an investor group led by technology giant Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake.

As outlined in an internal memorandum circulated by TikTok CEO Shou Chew last month, the social media platform’s US arm will be operated by a joint venture featuring Oracle and Silver Lake. Chew noted in December that ByteDance had entered into a binding agreement with investors and was currently awaiting regulatory clearance.

The Trump administration indicated its support for the deal at the time by suspending legislation that would have mandated a White House ban on the app if it were not divested. However, the Chinese government has continued to maintain a cautious stance regarding the arrangement.

Under the terms disclosed in December, the owners of the US-based entity include Silver Lake, the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence firm MGX, and Oracle, co-founded by Larry Ellison, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump.

The deal is estimated to be valued at $14 billion. Under the new ownership structure, the consortium led by Silicon Valley titan Oracle and Silver Lake will hold a stake of more than 80% in the company, which currently serves 66 million daily users in the US.

The agreement is specifically designed to insulate the social media platform from Chinese influence and circumvent the divestiture-or-ban mandate enacted by Congress in 2024. While TikTok released limited information regarding the deal on Thursday night, further details—including whether the arrangement strictly complies with the 2024 statute—have not yet been made public.

It remains uncertain whether the agreement sufficiently mitigates the concerns of US lawmakers who contend that the application poses a significant threat to national security. TikTok stated that the new owners would “retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algorithm based on US user data.”

Even if the agreement is fully implemented, reversing existing TikTok bans on federal devices would require the passage of new legislation by federal and state congresses, which may prove to be a formidable challenge. Alan Rozenshtein, who served as an attorney advisor in the Department of Justice’s national security division during the Barack Obama administration, noted that state-level prohibitions would likely persist. “Legally, the president cannot override [federal law],” Rozenshtein said.

According to Thursday’s announcement, the new American venture will store user data on Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. The company intends to implement a “comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program, audited and certified by third-party cybersecurity experts.”