U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday approving a proposal that would preserve TikTok in the US, in a transaction that, according to Vice President J.D. Vance, values the business at $14 billion.
The deal meets the requirements of the National Security Act, which requires Chinese ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban on operating in the country.
Under the terms, which China has yet to approve, a new joint venture will oversee TikTok’s US operations, with ByteDance retaining a stake of less than 20%.
Tech giant Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment fund MGX will be the main investors in TikTok’s US operations, controlling about 45% of the company’s shares, while ByteDance’s investors and new shareholders will own 35%, CNBC reported.
No ByteDance representative was present at the signing, and the company has not confirmed that the transaction is taking place. No purchase price was reported, and there is no indication that the Chinese government has made any changes to the laws that would be necessary for the transaction to take place.
However, Trump said the Chinese President gave the green light for the transaction. Vance, for his part, said the Chinese government showed some resistance before the deal.
Under the planned deal, Oracle will oversee the app’s security operations and continue to provide cloud computing services for the new US company TikTok. Trump said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is part of the ownership group and that his company “plays a very important role.”
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