After years of political wrangling, TikTok has finalized a deal to restructure its U.S. operations under a new joint venture controlled by an investor group led by Oracle. The move averts a nationwide ban by creating a new U.S.-based entity to manage the app and its data.
Slicing up the pie: The new ownership is split among a trio of heavyweights: Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, which will each take a 15% stake. TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, will retain just under 20% as a minority stake, while affiliates of existing investors will hold just over 30%.
Dodging a ban: The agreement resolves a years-long saga over national security concerns, culminating in a divest-or-ban law signed in 2024. The Trump administration framed the deal as a "qualified divestiture" that protects national security without kicking the app's 170 million American users offline.
The Ellison empire: The deal is raising red flags over media consolidation, largely due to the central role of Oracle founder Larry Ellison. His son, David Ellison, is currently attempting a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which would add to the family's existing influence through Paramount Skydance.
While the deal resolves a major geopolitical headache between the U.S. and China, it creates a new one by further concentrating the power of America's media and tech platforms in the hands of a few billionaires. The transaction puts a spotlight on Larry Ellison's quest to become a media mogul and the quiet power of investor Silver Lake, which also owns major stakes in WME and the TKO Group.
