Abu Dhabi's royal family will take a 15% stake in TikTok's U.S. business under a $14 billion deal brokered by President Donald Trump, a move that shifts majority control of the video-sharing platform to American investors after years of national security wrangling over Chinese ownership.
Trump signed an executive order late Thursday approving the transaction, which provides a 120-day window to finalize terms and avert a U.S. ban on the app. The agreement follows a law passed last year requiring China-based ByteDance Ltd. to sell TikTok's American operations or face a nationwide shutdown.
Under the deal, MGX - an investment fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser - will acquire the 15% stake and gain a board seat in TikTok U.S. The fund will join Oracle Corp., Silver Lake Management, and other American investors, who together will control roughly 65% of the new entity. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake.
"[TikTok US] will be majority-owned and controlled by United States persons and will no longer be controlled by any foreign adversary," Trump said during the signing ceremony. "We have American investors taking it over, running it... very sophisticated, including Larry Ellison. Great investors, the biggest."
Vice President JD Vance said the $14 billion valuation was negotiated despite "some resistance on the Chinese side" and emphasized that the transaction addresses data-privacy concerns. "This deal really does mean that Americans can use TikTok, but actually use it with more confidence than in the past. Because their data is going to be secure and it's not going to be used as a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens," Vance said.
Trump added that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given informal approval for the deal, saying, "I had a very good talk with (Chinese) President Xi ... he gave us the go-ahead."
TikTok's U.S. operations, with roughly 170 million users, are considered its most valuable market. Analysts noted that the $14 billion valuation is far lower than the $30 billion to $35 billion range many had projected for the business, raising questions about whether ByteDance is accepting a discounted price to preserve TikTok's presence in the country.
Oracle will oversee TikTok U.S.'s data security operations and continue to provide cloud infrastructure. The new board, including MGX, will have authority over content moderation and compliance with U.S. law, according to people familiar with the deal.
The Chinese government has not publicly confirmed its approval, leaving a layer of geopolitical uncertainty over the transaction. Beijing previously said it would not allow the export of TikTok's algorithm, though Trump's order gives the new U.S. venture the right to control and monitor it.
