December 18, 2025
It looks like Bytedance has agreed to sell off the US operation of TikTok to us investors.
Now this is not a done deal yet. But according to multiple reports, TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew announced the sale to the US TikTok team today. The deal is the same one put forth by the Trump administration. It says 50% of the company will be owned by TikTok current data storage party Oracle, a private equity firm called Silver Lake and an UAE-backed investment firm called MGX. Just over 30% of the joint venture will be held by “affiliates of certain existing investors in Bytedance” and 19.9% will be retained by Bytedance. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications act says Bytedance can not own more than 20% of the company.
Now this is significant because its the first time that TikTok is talking about this. Which would suggest that China has also signed off. In the past its only been the Trump administration talking about it and TikTok has said nothing. This deal will be finalized by January 22. Right before the latest Trump deadline.
