China Reaches ‘Final Agreement’ to Sell TikTok to U.S. Group

U.S. and China Agree on TikTok Ownership Transfer

The United States and China have come to a final agreement regarding the ownership of TikTok, addressing ongoing concerns over its connections to the Chinese Communist Party, as announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday.

This agreement looks to mitigate national security worries tied to ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok. In a CBS News interview, Bessent mentioned that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to formally sign the agreement during a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Busan, South Korea.

According to the newly formed framework, as established in an executive order from Trump the previous month, ByteDance will hold less than 20% ownership of TikTok, while a coalition of “certain investors” will obtain an 80% stake in the platform. This arrangement aligns with legislation enacted last year under former President Joe Biden, demanding a divestment from its Chinese owners.

Bessent refrained from disclosing specific details but emphasized that his objective was to secure the Chinese government’s approval for this agreement, which he suggested had been successfully achieved in recent days. Additionally, he hinted that notable figures like Larry Ellison of Oracle, tech entrepreneur Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch, the former chairman of News Corp., might be part of the deal, as previously indicated by Trump.

Vice President J.D. Vance has also revealed significant investors within the American group that will take over TikTok.

As per the deal’s terms, a new joint venture will manage TikTok’s operations in the U.S., with ByteDance maintaining a minority stake. The remaining investors include Oracle, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based investment fund MGX. Trump has also mentioned the potential involvement of Murdoch and Dell in this buyout initiative.

Essential components of the agreement involve ByteDance leasing its algorithms to this new U.S. entity, while Oracle will take charge of their retraining. Furthermore, Oracle is set to oversee a secure cloud system for U.S. user data and will put measures in place to restrict access from other nations. This effort is designed to tackle long-standing issues related to the control of TikTok’s recommendation software and the privacy and security of user data.