TikTok Says It Signed Agreements for New US Joint Venture [View all]

Source: Bloomberg

December 18, 2025 at 5:26 PM EST
Updated on December 18, 2025 at 5:55 PM EST


TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew told employees that the social media company and its parent, ByteDance Ltd., signed binding agreements to create a US joint venture majority-owned by American investors.

In an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg, Chew said he was “pleased to share some great news” and said agreements with Oracle Corp., Silver Lake and MGX have been signed. Chew gave a closing date of Jan. 22, 2026.

“Upon the closing, the US joint venture, built on the foundation of the current TikTok US Data Security (USDS) organization, will operate as an independent entity with authority over US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance,” Chew said in the memo. Meanwhile, “TikTok global’s U.S. entities will manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing,” he wrote.

The memo outlined a deal that matched what the White House announced in September, which was pending approval from China. Chew’s memo does not mention China’s opinion on the transaction. It says 50% of the investors will be new, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company, retaining 15% each; 30.1% will be held by affiliates of certain existing investors of ByteDance; and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-18/tiktok-says-it-signed-agreements-to-create-new-us-joint-venture?srnd=homepage-americas