6 events in Passaic County with a date

Details emerge on TikTok investors

White House: Trump to sign deal in coming days

By: Melina Khan
and Greta Cross
USA Today

..... A high-powered group of investors, the majority of whom are based in America, may be set to take ownership of TikTok's U.S. operation after a convoluted years-long bid to keep the social media app available in the United States.
..... Senior White House officials told reported on a September 22 [2025] call that TikTok has reached a preliminary deal to sell its U.S. operations to a group of investors that will include private equity firm Silver Lake, Oracle, a U.S.-based technology firm, would serve as TikTok's security provider for its American operations, they said.
..... While the officials did not disclose other investor names, President Donald Trump has already dropped a few. During a September 21 [2025] interview on Fox News, Trump said billionaire tech investor Michael Dell was involved in the deal, and Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, who run News Cooperation would "probably" be in the group as well.
..... White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters at a September 22 [2025] briefing that Trump is expected to sign the deal in the coming days.
..... Oracle, Silver Lake, News Corporation and Dell Technologies did not immediately respond to request for comment when contacted by USA Today on September 22. [2025]
..... For years, TikTok's future in the United States remained uncertain a lawmakers raised national security concerns over the short-form video app, alleging parent company ByteDance is shearing U.S. user data with China, TikTok has repeatedly denied these claims/
..... Former President Joe Biden singed a law in 2024 banning TikTok in the United States unless ByeDance divested its U.S. holdings. Trump, however, has extend the sell-or-ban deadline three times.
..... After months of negotiations, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer on September 15 [2025] told reporters at a trade meeting between U.S. and China officials that TikTok would move to U.S.-based ownership under the framework deal.
..... Trump first hinted that issues over TikTok's China-based ownership had been resolved in a social media post on September 15. [2025]
..... "A deal was also reached on a 'certain' company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Oracle expected to control algorithm, officials say

..... According to the White House officials, once the deal is approved, Oracle will be in charge of TikTok's security systems, including updates to the app and how user data is stored.
..... Under the deal, Oracle will also be in charge of most of the app's code, which helps control tis functions,as well as the app's content recommendations algorithm, the officials said
..... TikTok's algorithm is responsible for sorting and ranking content for users based on their data, including interactions, preferences and profile demographics.
..... Oracle will obtain and inspect a copy of the algorithm, then retrain it on U.S. user data, the officials said. All U.S. user data will be stored on Oracle servers in the United States, according to Leavitt.
..... TikTok will remain globally interoperable, meaning U.S.-based users will still be able to see videos posted by users in other countries, Leavitt said.
..... Oracle, which was co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, sells cloud computing and database software. In 2020, Oracle became TikTok's cloud provider and a minority investor in TikTok Global.

Silver Lake private equity firm and other investors

..... While classified confirmed that private equity firm Silver Lake will also be part of the new investor group, they did not provide further details about the nature of the firm's role.
..... Silver Lake's portfolio of current assets includes Dell Technologies, which is run by Michael Dell, who Trump said would be involved in the deal. it's unclear how Silver Lake's part in the investor group will affect Michale Dell or Dell Technologies' role in the deal.
..... In additions, Silver Lake has big-name assets like Pelpton, Klarna and more. It is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, according to Private Equity International.
..... Officials did not disclose further names that could be included in the investor group taking over TikTok's U.S. assets.
..... However, they did say the group will include mix of firms that have already invested in ByteDance. ByteDance must retain less than 20% of equity in TikTok's U.S. assets as part of the deal.
..... While some global firms may be involved, the ownership group will have majority American board of directors, the officials said.
..... Earlier in the TikTok ownership saga, several U.S. bidders expensed interest in the app. Some high-profile names involved in past bids included "Shark Tan" investor Kevin O'Leary, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and James "Jimmy" Donaldson, the Internet superstar known as MrBeast.
..... Most recently, in April, [2025] cryotpcurrency foundation Hbar and Zoop, a startup co-led by the founder of OnlyFans, jointly submitted to the White House a plan to buy the app.

..... Contributing: Joey Garrison and Kinsey Crowley, USA Today

HOME