TikTok sells US assets – China banned from America's app empire, a massive win for Trump

TikTok has signed a deal to transfer its US assets to a consortium of American investors, a major step toward securing the app’s long-term future in the United States, CEO Shou Chew told employees in an internal memo on Thursday.

The agreement, first reported by Axios, brings the popular video platform closer to meeting requirements of a US law that would otherwise ban the app unless it is spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

Although the transaction is not yet complete, the signing of binding agreements marks significant progress in a saga that has stretched over multiple administrations and years of regulatory scrutiny.

The deal is expected to close by January 22, 2026, Chew said in his memo.

“We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok US joint venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community,” Chew wrote.

Under the terms of the deal, a newly formed US entity will take control of TikTok’s American app.

Roughly 50 % ownership will be held by a consortium including Oracle Corporation, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Emirati-backed investor MGX. Around 30.1 % will be controlled by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, and 19.9 % will remain with ByteDance, AP reported.

The agreement follows a 2024 US law, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which requires that apps deemed controlled by foreign adversaries divest US operations within set deadlines or face a ban — a rule that technically took effect in January 2025.

President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly delayed enforcement of the divest-or-ban deadline to allow negotiations to continue.

In September, the White House signed an executive order declaring a proposed sale arrangement met the law’s requirements and granted a 120-day window for the deal to close.

The lengthy negotiations reflect broader tensions over national security and data privacy.

US officials have long argued that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok could expose American user data to foreign access, while TikTok and its supporters have said that safeguards such as US-based servers and oversight arrangements could mitigate such risks.

Chew noted there is still more work to be done before the transaction becomes final, but he said all parties are moving toward completion. ByteDance and TikTok have both agreed to the terms of the joint venture, he said.