TikTok signed the agreement to sell its US business to Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX

TikTok CEO Shou Chew informed employees that the social media app's parent company, ByteDance Ltd., has signed binding agreements for the creation of a US joint venture majority-owned by US investors.

In an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg Agency, Chew said he was 'delighted to share fantastic news' and stated that agreements had been signed with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.

"Upon closing, the US joint venture, built on the foundation of the existing TikTok US Data Security (Usds) organisation, will operate as an independent entity with authority over data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance in the US," Chew said in the note. Meanwhile, 'TikTok Global's US entities will manage global product interoperability and certain business activities, including e-commerce, advertising and marketing,' he wrote.

Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will together hold 45% of the US entity. Almost a third of the company will be held by affiliates of ByteDance's current investors, while almost 20 per cent will remain with ByteDance.

The White House and the Chinese government had reached an agreement in principle in September to sell TikTok's US operations to a joint venture controlled by a group of US investors led by Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Oracle. Trump had first issued an executive order in 2020 asking ByteDance to sell its US operations. In 2024, Congress passed a law to impose a ban on the app if the sale did not take place. In January, the Supreme Court upheld that law. Trump repeatedly delayed its implementation through a series of executive orders as his administration tried to negotiate a sale.