WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday approving a deal that would keep TikTok operating in the United States, valuing the app’s U.S. business at about $14 billion, Vice President JD Vance said.
The order declares that the proposed transaction satisfies a 2024 national security law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. Under the terms, which still require China’s approval, a new joint-venture company would oversee TikTok’s U.S. business, with ByteDance retaining less than a 20% stake.
Oracle, Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi-based investment fund MGX would be the main investors, controlling roughly a 45% stake, according to CNBC’s David Faber. Oracle would oversee the app’s security operations and continue providing cloud services, with CEO Larry Ellison playing what Trump called “a very big part.”
“It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans,” Trump said at the signing. “This is going to be American operated all the way.”
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave the deal the go-ahead after their Washington meeting this week. Vance acknowledged “some resistance on the Chinese side” but said the administration wanted both to keep TikTok running and to protect Americans’ data privacy as required by law.
No ByteDance representatives attended the signing, and neither the company nor Beijing has publicly confirmed the transaction. The order extends ByteDance’s divestment deadline by 120 days to allow time for regulatory approvals. TikTok has about 170 million U.S. monthly users.