TikTok's Chinese owner agrees deal to sell US business

TikTok's Chinese owner has signed a deal to sell the company's US arm to American investors – ensuring the video platform can continue operating in the United States.

The deal is expected to close on 22 January 2026, according to an internal memo seen by Sky News' US partner, NBC News.

It will end years of uncertainty over the app's future in the States, after Joe Biden signed a law last year that required TikTok's Chinese owners to sell up - or else it would be blocked.

The law was introduced amid concerns from some US politicians that ByteDance might share user data with the Chinese government, despite repeated assurances from the firm that it would not.

Critics also expressed fears that Chinese authorities may be able to manipulate TikTok's algorithms and shape what content users see and are influenced by. This claim was also denied.

Mr Biden set a January 2025 deadline for the sale and when ByteDance failed to comply, TikTok went dark for several hours.

It returned after Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it running on his first day in office.

Who's taking over?

The internal memo sent to employees on Thursday said the deal allows "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part ‌of a vital global community."

TikTok owner ByteDance will sell just over 80% of the company's US assets to three major investors, Reuters news agency reports.

The investors - Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX - will form a new venture, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

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The venture will be 50% held by the consortium of US investors, Reuters added, with affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors holding 30.1% and ByteDance itself retaining 19.9%.

It will have a new, seven-member majority-American board of directors and be subject to terms that "protect Americans' data and US national security", the memo said.

Data from users in the US will be stored locally.

(c) Sky News 2025: TikTok's Chinese owner agrees deal to sell US business