TikTok-Oracle deal to give US investors and companies majority stake amid concerns from Donald Trump
- Walmart expected to take an equity stake and have seat on board
- Chinese owner plans TikTok Global IPO if US clears deal
US investors and companies, including Oracle, are set to hold at least a 60 per cent stake in TikTok’s US operations, according to a person briefed on the matter, a move that could help ease concerns raised about the deal by US President Donald Trump.
The US Treasury submitted a revised term sheet – one that was agreed to by the Chinese parent of TikTok – to ByteDance late on Wednesday to address national security concerns, the source said.
The new company, dubbed TikTok Global, will have a majority of American directors, a US chief executive and a security expert on the board. Oracle has agreed to take a 20 per cent stake in the company when it is created and Walmart is also expected to take an equity stake and have a seat on TikTok Global’s board, the source said.
It is still not clear if Trump will sign off on the agreement. It was also not immediately clear what assets TikTok Global would own beyond the app’s assets in the United States.
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It was also not clear whether ByteDance could present the deal to China as keeping majority ownership of TikTok. Chinese officials have said they do not want ByteDance to agree to a forced sale.
Trump said on Wednesday he did not like the idea of ByteDance keeping a majority stake in TikTok in the United States. “Conceptually, I can tell you that I don’t like that,” Trump said.