Deal with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, confirmed in internal memo, will allow app to continue operating in US
TikTok has signed a deal to sell its US business to three American investors – Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX – ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the United States.
The deal is expected to close on 22 January, according to an internal memo seen by he Associated Press and Reuters. The TikTok chief executive officer, Shou Zi Chew, said in the memo that ByteDance and TikTok have signed binding agreements with the three investors.
The new TikTok US joint venture will be 50% held by a consortium of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX with 15% each. Another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance, according to the memo.
White House officials have said Oracle, which was co-founded by Donald Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license a copy of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal, in a partnership that will expand on Oracle’s existing management of TikTok’s trove of data collected about its US users.
