TikTok U.S. sale moves ahead as American investor organisation strikes
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Summary: TikTok signs agreement to transfer majority ownership of its U.S. unit to American investors.
TikTok’s long saga to secure its future in the United States has taken a major step forward. The Chinese parent company ByteDance has signed binding agreements to transfer control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an organisation of mostly American and global investors.
Under the deal, a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will take over the app’s operations in the U.S., helping the platform comply with a 2024 law that otherwise threatened a nationwide ban unless ByteDance divested its American business. The transaction is expected to close by January 22, 2026.
The investment group includes Oracle, tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company. These investors will collectively own 45 % of the new U.S. entity, with part of the remaining ownership held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, and ByteDance retaining a 19.9 % stake.
Once complete, the joint venture will oversee data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance for TikTok’s American operations, with a majority-American board guiding strategy and compliance.
The agreement marks an end to years of regulatory uncertainty for TikTok in the U.S., where legislators raised national-security concerns about data access and foreign influence.
TikTok hopes to reassure regulators by moving governance to US-based investors and establishing local authority over critical technical systems, while also keeping access for its over 170 million American users and advertisers.
