Washington, September 27: President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order approving the sale of Chinese-owned TikTok’s U.S. operations to American and global investors, valuing the popular short-video app at around $14 billion.
The move comes under a 2024 U.S. law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. assets or face a ban. Enforcement of the law has been delayed until Jan. 20, 2026, giving time for the sale to be completed and for regulatory approvals, including from China.
Trump said the deal ensures TikTok will be “American-operated all the way”, with its recommendation algorithm retrained, monitored, and controlled by U.S. security partners. Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the sale valuation is below some analysts’ earlier estimates of $30–40 billion.
ByteDance will hold less than 20% of the new U.S. entity, while Oracle, private-equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX are expected to acquire roughly half the company. Existing ByteDance investors, including Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic and KKR, are slated to hold around 30%. The new board will have six Americans and one ByteDance representative.
China’s foreign ministry said it respects the will of enterprises and hopes the U.S. provides a “fair and non-discriminatory business environment.” Chinese media reported ByteDance might retain operational roles and some revenue, although those reports were later removed.
TikTok has approximately 170 million U.S. users, and Trump credited the app with helping his reelection campaign. The White House also launched its own TikTok account last month.
U.S. lawmakers expressed the need for clarity, saying the deal must ensure a clean break from China and protect American users from potential influence by Chinese Communist Party-aligned entities.
Trump said high-profile investors, including Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and Rupert Murdoch, will be part of the transaction, alongside other global investors.
