TikTok has signed agreements to sell its U.S. business to an American investor-led group. The deal brings the popular video-sharing platform closer to compliance with U.S. national security laws and allows it to continue operating in the country.
Internal company memos confirmed by Reuters and the Associated Press say TikTok will form a new joint venture called TikTok U.S. The deal includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX as the main American investors. Each firm will hold a 15% stake.
According to the memo, the new investor consortium will own 50% of TikTok U.S. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1%. ByteDance itself will retain a 19.9% stake, keeping its ownership below the 20% limit required under U.S. law.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees that the joint venture will be majority-owned by American investors. It will be governed by a seven-member board with a majority of U.S. directors. Chew said the structure includes protections for American user data and U.S. national security.
Oracle is expected to play a key role in the new company. As part of the deal, Oracle will license a copy of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm. The company will also expand its role managing data collected from U.S. users. This builds on Oracle’s existing responsibility for hosting TikTok’s American data infrastructure.
The transaction is scheduled to close on Jan. 22, 2026. Chew said the agreement will allow TikTok to continue serving more than 170 million U.S. users. He added that the platform will remain part of a global community. TikTok plans to provide more updates as the closing date approaches.
The deal follows years of political and legal pressure over TikTok’s ties to China. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a national security law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban.
The law is known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. It targets apps controlled by adversarial foreign governments, including China. The law took effect in January but allowed multiple extensions.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September approving the proposed transaction. The order allows TikTok’s U.S. operations to be separated from ByteDance. It fulfills the requirements of a law originally signed by former President Joe Biden.
Trump said at the time that cooperation from China was needed to complete the deal. He said he has great respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump added that he appreciated Xi’s support in approving the agreement. He said the United States “comes out great” under the arrangement. He also said China benefits by maintaining broader business ties with the U.S.
ByteDance initially refused to sell TikTok. After Trump returned to office, his administration issued several enforcement delays. These included multiple 75-day and 90-day extensions. The delays were designed to give the company time to reach a compliant agreement.
In a statement, ByteDance said it would work in accordance with applicable laws. The company said it intends to keep TikTok available to American users through TikTok U.S. ByteDance also thanked President Trump and President Xi for their efforts to preserve the platform’s U.S. operations.
If the transaction closes as planned, it would end the long-running dispute over TikTok’s future in the United States. Control of the app’s American operations would shift to U.S.-led ownership. The platform would continue operating under tighter national security oversight.