Trump Steers TikTok to a $14B U.S. Buyout — American Investors Take the Wheel
Washington, D.C. — In a bold pivot that reshapes the tech landscape, former President Donald Trump has signed an executive order clearing the path for a $14 billion deal to restructure TikTok’s U.S. operations — putting American investors squarely in the driver’s seat.
The Deal at a Glance
The new structure gives a consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX a combined ~45% stake, while ByteDance retains 19.9%, with no control over U.S. security or data decisions.
U.S. investors including Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox are also poised to play roles — projecting >65% control by American entities.
The order grants a 120-day window to finalize the agreement under the terms of a 2024 law that mandates ByteDance divest U.S. assets over national security concerns.
The newly formed U.S. board will hold six American-appointed seats, with ByteDance retained a lone board seat.
What This Means for U.S. Data & National Security
By restructuring TikTok U.S. under American control, the Trump administration argues it addresses long-standing security fears:
The deal stipulates that the TikTok algorithm, data storage, and content moderation will be managed domestically, insulating user data from foreign oversight.
Despite ByteDance’s retained stake, its influence over algorithm or security decisions is explicitly removed under the new structure.
Critics, however, remain wary: Some lawmakers and analysts question whether full independence from ByteDance’s systems is feasible.
Risks, Uncertainties & Next Steps
The deal must secure Chinese regulatory approval to move forward — a critical but uncertain hurdle.
Legal and antitrust scrutiny will be intense. The structure must comply not only with U.S. national security law but also fair competition and foreign investment oversight.
Questions persist on how the algorithm will evolve under its new U.S. governance and whether user experience or content curation will shift.
Meanwhile, the existing federal ban threat under the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” is effectively paused to allow time for the restructuring.
This landmark deal marks a turning point in U.S.–China tech diplomacy — a high-stakes bet that American control can coexist with TikTok’s global footprint.
Team- Intellex Strategic Consulting Private Limited
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