TikTok has announced it has reached a deal to create a new US-based entity, allowing the company to avoid a nationwide ban and bringing to an end a prolonged legal and political dispute.
Under the agreement, finalised by TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, the new venture will be majority owned by American investors. Oracle founder Larry Ellison, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment group MGX will together hold 80.1% of the business. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake.
The announcement comes five years after Donald Trump first threatened to ban TikTok during his first term as US president.
The platform’s future in the United States had remained uncertain since Congress passed legislation in 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban. The supreme court upheld the law in January 2025.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the ban. Further extensions followed as negotiations continued between the US government, TikTok and prospective American partners.
In September, Trump signed another executive order outlining a framework for US investors to take majority control of TikTok’s American operations. The plan also called for a seven-member board, dominated by Americans with backgrounds in cybersecurity and national security.
TikTok said Adam Presser, formerly its general manager and global head of operations and trust and safety, would become chief executive of the new entity. Shou Chew, TikTok’s current chief executive, will sit on the board.
The company said the US business would operate under safeguards designed to protect national security, including strict data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software controls. The recommendation algorithm will be retrained and updated using US user data.
A White House official said both the US and Chinese governments had approved the deal, although the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
In a social media post on Thursday night, Trump thanked China’s president, Xi Jinping, for approving the agreement and said the platform would now be owned by American investors.
Concerns from US lawmakers have focused on fears that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to access data from American users, allegations the company has consistently denied.
The law passed in 2024 barred ByteDance from maintaining operational control over a US TikTok entity but gave the president discretion to determine whether any agreement met its requirements.
The prospect of a ban had prompted widespread opposition from creators and influencers who rely on the platform for their livelihoods.
TikTok said Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX would each hold a 15% stake in the new venture. The investment firm of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, is also among the investors.
