TikTok inks deal with investors to keep operating in U.S.

TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. business to three American investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the country.

The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, 2026, according to an internal memo seen by The Associated Press.

CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees in the memo that ByteDance and TikTok have signed binding agreements with the three investors.

Half of the new TikTok U.S. joint venture will be owned by a consortium of investors — among them Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, who will each hold a 15 per cent share.

Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors and 19.9 per cent will be retained by the China-based ByteDance, according to the memo.

WATCH | Security concerns prompted shutdown of TikTok in Canada in November 2024:

Canada bans TikTok business operations, but Canadians can still use app

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has banned TikTok’s business operations in Canada over national security concerns, but Canadians can still use the app. Government officials have said the decision was made on advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community.

Algorithm to be retrained on U.S. user data

The U.S. venture will have a seven-member majority-American board of directors, the memo said.

It will also be subject to terms that “protect Americans’ data and U.S. national security.”

U.S. user data will be stored locally in a system run by Oracle.

TikTok’s algorithm — the secret sauce that powers its addictive video feed— will be retrained on U.S. user data to “ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation,” the memo said.

The U.S. venture will also oversee content moderation and policies within the country.

The deal marks the end of years of uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the U.S.

In April 2024, after large bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and then-president Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner in the place of China’s ByteDance, the platform was set to go dark on the law’s January 2025 deadline.

For a several hours, it did. But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration tried to reach an agreement for the sale of the company.

WATCH | What U.S. ownership of TikTok could mean for what its algorithm shows you:

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week, clearing the way for a group of investors to take control of the app’s American operations. For The National, CBC’s Ashley Fraser breaks down what we know about the deal and what U.S. ownership could mean for your #fyp.

Three more executive…