TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance has finalised an agreement creating a majority American-owned joint venture to operate the app's US business, sidestepping a ban that would have blocked the platform's 200 million American users.

The deal establishes TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, in which American and global investors will hold 80.1 per cent whilst ByteDance retains 19.9 per cent. Cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each hold 15 per cent stakes as managing investors.

Reuters reported that both US and Chinese governments have signed off on the agreement. President Donald Trump praised the outcome on social media, writing that TikTok "will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World." He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping "for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal."

The arrangement resolves a dispute that began in August 2020 when Trump first attempted to ban the app over national security concerns. Congress passed legislation in April 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell its US assets or face prohibition, which the Supreme Court upheld in January 2025. Trump subsequently postponed enforcement whilst negotiations continued.

Oracle will secure US user data and oversee the retraining of TikTok's content recommendation algorithm using only American data in its cloud environment. The algorithm, widely considered the platform's competitive advantage, will operate separately from ByteDance's global version.

Adam Presser, formerly of WarnerMedia and TikTok, has been appointed chief executive of the joint venture, with Will Farrell as chief security officer. A seven-member board includes TikTok chief executive Shou Chew alongside executives from Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.

Additional investors include the Dell Family Office, investment firm of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, plus Vastmere Strategic Investments, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group. The Guardian reported that Susquehanna was co-founded by Trump ally Jeff Yass, whose personal stake in ByteDance was roughly 7 per cent as of last year.

However, questions remain about whether the structure fully satisfies the 2024 law's requirements. "There remains a disconnect between the agreement and the spirit of what the statute required," Brett Freedman, former chief of staff of the national security division at the Department of Justice, told Reuters.

The joint venture will also manage TikTok-owned apps CapCut and Lemon8 in the US. ByteDance will maintain control of revenue-generating operations including e-commerce and advertising, with the venture receiving payment for technology and data services.

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