TikTok signs deal selling US assets to three American investors

TikTok signed a deal selling its U.S. assets to three American investors — Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.

The three U.S. companies will each hold 15% of the assets, while the rest will remain with affiliates of existing investors in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, according to corporate officials on Thursday, The Hill news outlet reported.

ByteDance will keep 19.9% of its ownership, but U.S. user data will be stored under a system run by Oracle.

The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, 2026, according to an internal memo.

Platform operations will be managed by a seven-member, majority-American board of directors, per the memo.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication and tireless work,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew wrote in the memo to staff. “Your efforts keep us operating at the highest level and will ensure that TikTok continues to grow and thrive in the U.S. and around the world.”

“With these agreements in place, our focus must stay where it’s always been — firmly on delivering for our users, creators, businesses and the global TikTok community,” he added.

In September, President Trump signed an executive order to approve a deal to keep the TikTok app available in the U.S. after it briefly went dark.

Last year, Congress passed a bill requiring TikTok to divest or sell its operations over the potential threat of Chinese manipulation to the social media app’s algorithm.