TikTok has secured an agreement with Oracle and a group of other U.S. investors to restructure its American operations.
A move that significantly reduces the risk of a nationwide ban and brings the company closer to meeting U.S. regulatory requirements ahead of the January deadline.
The deal, which is expected to close on January 22, comes nearly a year after U.S. legislation mandated the sale or shutdown of TikTok’s U.S. business over national security concerns.
According to reports by Axios, citing an internal memo from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, the transaction will see a new joint venture established to oversee TikTok’s U.S. entity.
What they said
Under the proposed ownership structure, Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will collectively hold a 45% stake in the new company.
ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, will retain a minority interest, though details of its final ownership share have not been fully disclosed.
The agreement follows months of intense negotiations and regulatory scrutiny, as TikTok raced to comply with U.S. law requiring that at least 80% of its American assets be sold to an entity approved by U.S. authorities.
The legislation, signed by former President Joe Biden, was driven by bipartisan concerns that TikTok’s ties to China could expose sensitive U.S. user data or allow foreign influence operations. ByteDance and TikTok have consistently denied these allegations.
What you should know
The urgency of the deal is shown by the next potential ban deadline set for January 23. That deadline stems from the most recent extension signed in September by President Donald Trump, which temporarily delayed enforcement of the law to allow more time for negotiations.
- Failure to finalize an acceptable transaction by that date could have resulted in TikTok being removed from U.S. app stores and restricted from operating in the country.
- In his memo to staff, Chew described the agreement as a major milestone but cautioned that additional work remains before the transaction is fully completed. He noted that both ByteDance and TikTok have agreed to the outlined terms, suggesting internal alignment after months of uncertainty surrounding the platform’s future in its largest advertising market.
- Oracle’s involvement is particularly notable, given its existing role as TikTok’s U.S. cloud services provider and its central position in earlier proposals aimed at addressing U.S. data security concerns.
The inclusion of Silver Lake and MGX also signals strong institutional backing for the restructured entity, potentially strengthening TikTok’s standing with regulators.
For U.S. users, advertisers, and creators, the agreement offers reassurance that the platform will continue operating without disruption.
