TikTok has reached a major milestone by finalizing an agreement to sell a significant stake in its US operations, allowing the platform to comply with America’s divest-or-ban law and continue operating in the country. The development was confirmed by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in an internal memo, following reports by several international media outlets. The company is aiming to complete the transaction by January 22, 2026.
Under the agreement, a new company named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will be established to manage TikTok’s US business. Ownership of this entity will be divided among new American investors, existing ByteDance shareholders, and ByteDance itself. A group of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, will collectively hold 50 percent of the joint venture, with each firm taking a 15 percent stake. Affiliates of current ByteDance investors will own 30.1 percent, while ByteDance will retain a minority stake of 19.9 percent.
The deal follows months of uncertainty, during which TikTok briefly went offline in the US after missing earlier divestment deadlines. The platform was granted multiple deadline extensions by US authorities, particularly after Washington and Beijing reached a framework understanding in late 2025.
The new US-based entity will be overseen by a seven-member board, the majority of whom will be American. It will have full authority over data security, algorithm protection, content moderation, and software integrity for US users. TikTok has also committed to retraining its recommendation algorithm using US data only, while sensitive user information will be stored on secure US-based cloud infrastructure operated by Oracle.
Once finalized, the joint venture will operate independently, while TikTok’s global teams will continue supporting advertising, e-commerce, and marketing functions. The company says US users and advertisers will not see any disruption to services.
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