No longer Chinese, under American control, but also a bit Emirati. As Donald Trump signs the executive order that establishes the transfer of TikTok's US operations into American hands, a signing announced overnight, new details are emerging about the mini-video platform's new shareholders.
Alongside cloud giant Oracle, whose owner Larry Ellison is the richest man in the world and close to Trump, and investment fund Silver Lake, the name of MGX, the Emirati state-owned company dedicated to developing artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, has also appeared.
Together, they are expected to control roughly 45% of the company, worth 14 billion euros. As previously predicted, ByteDance's Chinese founders will be left with just under 20%. The remaining 35% will be split between some of the social network's early investors and new shareholders, including Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch.
Trump's signature
Trump's executive order stipulates that the deal fulfills the terms of a law passed in 2023 by a bipartisan vote in Congress, which declared that TikTok's Chinese ownership posed a threat to national security: the US subsidiary must be divested or closed. After returning to the White House, Trump repeatedly pushed the ultimatum, demanding a deal with Beijing, which was eventually reached.
Exchange of favors
At the heart of the matter is the fate of TikTok's algorithm, the beating heart of its technology and the open secret to its mesmerizing success. Not everything is clear, but according to rumors, the deal requires ByteDance to license it to the new American company, which can "retrain" it if it wants.
TikTok USA will have a majority American board of directors and only one appointed by Chinese. Oracle, which already "hosts" American user data on its servers, will monitor its security.
After the latest phone call with Trump, Xi said China would not oppose what he describes — also to save face — as a “business-to-business deal.” It will soon be clear what other concessions, if any, he has received in return.