TikTok signed a deal backed by US President Donald Trump to separate its assets in the country and create a new entity with a group of mostly American investors, CEO Shou Chew told employees in a memo on Thursday (18).
Although the transaction is not yet complete, the move brings TikTok closer to securing its long-term future in the United States. It follows the passage of a law last year that required the US version of the app to be separate from its parent company, ByteDance, or be .
Trump repeatedly delayed enforcement of the law as he sought a deal to transfer control of the popular app to an American company.
“We have reached agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok joint venture in the US, enabling more than 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of infinite possibilities as part of a vital global community,” Chew said in his memo, obtained by CNN.
A person familiar with the company confirmed the veracity of the memo. TikTok declined to comment on the memo.
Under the terms of the deal, the app will be controlled by a new joint venture in the US, where 50% will be owned by a consortium of investors made up of technology company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and UAE-backed investment firm MGX.
Just over 30% of the joint venture will be held by “affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors” and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance, according to Chew’s memo.
Chew stated in his memo that there is still work to be done before the deal is finalized, but the parties are moving toward completion by Jan. 22, 2026. Both ByteDance and TikTok have agreed to the terms of the deal, he said.
In September, the Trump administration announced it had reached an agreement with China to transfer control of TikTok’s US operations to a group of predominantly American investors.
The president signed an executive order declaring that the deal constitutes a qualified divestiture and postponing the application of the prohibition or sale law for 120 days to allow the transaction to complete.
The US law, which technically took effect in January, bans TikTok unless ByteDance sells approximately 80% of its US assets to non-Chinese investors.
The new entity will reconfigure TikTok’s algorithm based on data from American users and Oracle will oversee the storage of Americans’ data, as previously stated by White House officials.
The American joint venture will also be responsible for content moderation for American users. However, Chew’s memo suggests that TikTok’s global entity controlled by ByteDance will continue to manage e-commerce, advertising and marketing on the new American platform.
The deal is expected to need approval from the Chinese government before it can be completed. Although Trump has stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping supports the deal, Beijing has not officially confirmed its approval. The deal is also expected to require regulatory approvals from both countries.
