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The new deal terms are designed to protect the data of US citizens from falling into Chinese hands. Photo: AFP

ByteDance deal for US TikTok said to give Oracle access to source code, includes plan for IPO in a year

  • Terms of the proposed deal would give Oracle full access to TikTok’s source code and updates
TikTok ban

The new US company that TikTok’s owner Bytedance Ltd. plans to form with Oracle Corp. intends to hold an initial public offering in about a year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new company, which would be called TikTok Global, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will be the result of a transaction forced by President Donald Trump last month because of national security concerns about TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Bloomberg News reported earlier that the Treasury Department, Bytedance and Oracle agreed to terms for the deal late Wednesday.

Mnuchin sent Bytedance a revised terms sheet late Wednesday and the company and Oracle accepted it. People familiar with the matter described the government’s changes as addressing national security concerns about the transaction and asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

As he left the White House for a campaign trip to Wisconsin, Trump told reporters that administration officials had spoken with the companies in the deal on Thursday but did not elaborate.

“We spoke today, to Walmart, Oracle, I guess Microsoft is still involved, we’ll make a decision but nothing much has changed.”

Trump’s drive for a good deal puts TikTok-Oracle agreement in limbo

ByteDance rejected Microsoft Corp.’s bid for the US operations of TikTok last weekend, and a person familiar with the company said Thursday night that it was no longer involved in talks related to TikTok.

ByteDance is trying to win US approval for a transaction with Oracle that would leave the Chinese-headquartered parent company with majority ownership of TikTok.

Any deal must be approved by both Trump – who could still reject the transaction – and the Chinese government, where officials have accused the US of “economic bullying.”

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is aware of the revised terms but hasn’t reviewed the latest details in depth and hasn’t weighed in on whether Trump should sign off on the deal, one person familiar with the matter said.

The White House, Treasury and TikTok declined to comment.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged the US to “provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign companies operating in the US” during a briefing.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said earlier Thursday that he’s concerned that Oracle’s bid for TikTok may be a “repackaging” that won’t meet the president’s goals.

Trump slams Oracle’s TikTok bid, already hit by national security concerns

“We’re still looking at the potential details of the deal, and whether it meets the national-security thresholds, the American-interest thresholds,” Meadows said. “My big concern is if all we’re doing is repackaging it and still keeping it as a predominantly Chinese-government run company, that would not sit well with the original goal the president outlined.”

Under the plan, Oracle would acquire a minority stake in a newly formed TikTok that would be headquartered in the US with an independent board approved by the US government.

The new terms, which are designed to protect the data of US citizens from falling into Chinese hands, include 20 pages of detailed provisions over data and national security, the people said. Under those terms, the board of directors would have to consist entirely of US citizens and would include a national security committee.

That body would be chaired by an American data-security expert who would be the primary contact with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which would oversee any issues of concern to the US government. The previous terms hadn’t included language on the formation of that committee.

ByteDance kicks ball into Trump’s court as it picks Oracle over Microsoft

Terms of the proposed deal would give Oracle full access to TikTok’s source code and updates to make sure there are no back doors used by the company’s Chinese parent to access data on the video-sharing app’s 100 million American users, Bloomberg reported.

At least three shareholders in TikTok’s Chinese parent company – General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital and Coatue Management – would take stakes in the new business, Bloomberg has reported.

Walmart Inc., which had previously partnered with Microsoft Corp. to make an outright bid for TikTok’s US business, remains interested in investing as well, and could also end up with a seat on the board, according to one of the people. With Oracle, Walmart and the continued involvement of existing US investors, the new company, TikTok Global, would have a strong contingent of American investors, some of the people said.

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