White House reports preliminary TikTok deal
By: Joey Garrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - TikTok has reached a preliminary deal to sell its U.S. operations to an American-based investor group that will allow the popular video app to continue operating for its 170 million users in the country, senior White House officials said.
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The agreement, which President Donald Trump's administration has worked on for months, would spin off Beijing-based TikTok's U.S. operations to a new joint venture composed of majority American ownership. Oracel, a U.S.-based technology firm, would serve as TikTok's security provider for its American operations.
..... White House senior officials would not disclose the names of the investors during a September 22 [2025] call with reporters on the transaction but confirmed the consortium includes the private equity firm Silver Lake.
..... Trump, during a September 21 [2025] interview on Fox News, said Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and billionaire tech investor Michael Dell were involved in the deal, and that businessmen and media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, would "probably be in the group" as well.
..... Trump is executes to sign an executive order later this week [09/26/2025] supporting the agreement and delaying a U.S. ban on TikTok from going into effect for another 120 days to allow the company and investors to close the deal.
..... Under the arrangement, TikTok's algorithm would move under the control of the new U.S. joint venture, with Oracle in charge of inspecting and monitoring the algorithm to ensure ti isn't sued for any "malicious purpose," an officials said.
..... Beijing-based ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is set to sign an agreement approving the framework of the deal. Various procedural hurdles still remain, however, including a review of antitrust laws governing fair market competition.
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TikTok users in the United States wouldn't need to download a new app if the transactional is finalized.
..... The sale is expected to valued at "many billions of dollars," officials said, though the White House did not disclose a final figure of the transaction.
..... While the full breakdown of Tiktok's U.S., ownership consortium is unclear, a White House official said it will comply with federal law that prevents ByeDance from owning no more than 20% of the U.S. operations.
..... The full composition of the ownership group is expected to be finalized by the closing of the deal, which could come in early 2026.
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The Trump administration has no plans for the federal government to take any stake in the joint venture, the officials said.
..... Americans will hold six of the seven seats on TikTok's board of directors overseeing its U.S. operations, while ByteDance will occupy one of the seats, Reuters reported.
..... Former President Joe Biden signed a law in 2024 banning TikTok in the United States unless Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, divests its U.S. holdings. Trump, however, has extended the sell-or-ban deadline three times in his second presidential term.
..... Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to gave his blessing to the deal during a September 19 [2025] phone call with Trump.