Trump authorises TikTok sale, pegs U.S. value at $14bn

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order confirming that his plan to sell TikTok’s American operations to both U.S. and foreign investors satisfies the national security provisions required under a 2024 law.

According to Vice President JD Vance, the restructured company will be worth about $14 billion, a valuation much lower than several market watchers had predicted for the widely used short-video app.

On Thursday, Trump also extended the deadline for enforcing the law which mandates a ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent divests until January 20. The move gives negotiators time to detach the U.S. business from the international platform, attract investors, and secure Chinese government approval.

The publication of the order indicates progress in the transfer of TikTok’s U.S. assets, though many uncertainties remain, especially regarding how the American unit will handle the company’s central recommendation algorithm.

“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans' data privacy as required by law”, Vance told reporters during a briefing at the Oval Office.

The directive outlines that the algorithm will be retrained and overseen by the U.S. company’s security partners, with operational authority handed over to the new joint venture.

Trump added that Chinese President Xi Jinping had signaled his acceptance of the arrangement. “I spoke with President Xi”, Trump said. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing, and he said, 'go ahead with it”.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately provide a response, while TikTok also refrained from commenting on Trump’s announcement.

Trump has credited TikTok, which counts 170 million American users, with playing a role in his reelection victory last year. His personal account has 15 million followers, and the White House itself opened an official account only last month.

“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.

He identified several expected stakeholders, including Michael Dell, the founder and chief executive of Dell Technologies; Rupert Murdoch, chairman emeritus of Fox Corp and News Corp; along with probably four or five absolutely world-class investors.

The White House, however, did not explain how it calculated the $14 billion valuation.

ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, currently values itself at over $330 billion in its latest employee share repurchase scheme. TikTok contributes only a modest portion of that overall revenue.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives estimated TikTok’s worth without its algorithm at between $30 billion and $40 billion as of April 2025.

Alan Rozenshtein, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, said the executive order leaves open critical issues, particularly whether ByteDance will maintain influence over the algorithm. 

“The problem is that the president has certified the deal, but he has not provided a lot of information on the algorithm,” he explained.

Oracle and partners to control TikTok U.S.

Two sources familiar with the matter disclosed on Thursday that a consortium of investors, including Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake, will acquire roughly 50% of TikTok’s American arm.

Another portion, estimated at 30%, will be held by existing ByteDance investors such as Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, and KKR, one source said. Due to heavy investor interest, the 50% allocation could still be adjusted.

Neither Oracle nor Silver Lake provided immediate comment.

CNBC earlier reported that Abu Dhabi-based MGX, Oracle, and Silver Lake were expected to become the leading investors in TikTok U.S., together holding around 45%. MGX did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives expressed the need for further details to ensure the agreement creates a complete separation from China.

“As the details are finalised, we must ensure this deal protects American users from the influence and surveillance of CCP-aligned groups,” said Representatives Brett Guthrie, Gus Bilirakis, and Richard Hudson.

A senior White House official stated that ByteDance would appoint one of seven board members for the new company, with Americans occupying the remaining six seats.

To comply with the 2024 legislation that threatened to shut down the app in January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold, ByteDance’s stake in TikTok U.S. will remain under 20%.