Final Decision? Trump Signs Order, TikTok U.S. Divestiture Officially Begins

TradingKey - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday formally approving the divestiture of TikTok’s U.S. operations, paving the way for the long-anticipated deal.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced that under the agreement, the newly formed TikTok US will be valued at approximately $14 billion, with final details to be completed within the next 120 days.

This valuation is significantly lower than earlier estimates, which ranged from $35 billion to $40 billion, reflecting persistent uncertainty over key assets — particularly the app’s highly coveted content recommendation algorithm, whose value has been difficult to assess.

Under the transaction structure:

• Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund MGX will collectively hold around 45% of the new company.
• TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will retain a 19.9% stake.
• The remaining 35% will be held by U.S. investors, including existing shareholders such as General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group.

Trump also revealed that Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, will join as a new investor in the venture.

At the heart of the deal, Oracle will assume responsibility for managing TikTok U.S. user data privacy and overseeing the critical recommendation algorithm. The White House emphasized that this arrangement ensures control over algorithms, code, and content moderation decisions remains within the new U.S.-led joint entity — preventing the platform from becoming a “foreign government propaganda tool.”

However, challenges remain. Since China maintains regulatory authority over the export of core algorithms, Beijing has so far only approved the technology transfer in the form of a license, raising concerns among lawmakers and experts. Michael Sobolik of the Hudson Institute called it a “terrible deal,” arguing the new company will not have full control over the algorithm.

While the White House claims a framework-level consensus with China, Beijing has not officially confirmed its approval of the transaction.

Vice President Vance acknowledged “resistance from the Chinese side,” signaling that negotiations are still fragile. Additionally, MGX’s involvement has sparked debate over Middle Eastern influence on major American digital platforms.

Notably, Oracle’s founder Larry Ellison is seen as a key architect of the deal. He has recently expanded aggressively into media — supporting his son’s bid for Paramount and planning a takeover of Warner Bros. — signaling ambitions to build a tech-entertainment empire.

Currently, TikTok boasts around 170 million monthly active users in the U.S. Whether this breakup can ultimately succeed amid Sino-U.S. tensions and domestic political divisions remains uncertain. Multiple legal, regulatory, and geopolitical hurdles still lie ahead.