Trump signs executive order finalizing $14 billion TikTok sale to U.S. investors

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring that the proposed sale of TikTok's U.S. operations fulfills the national security requirements set by law, and values the U.S. entity at around $14 billion. How the White House reached this valuation is currently not known.

As per previous reports, the TikTok entity in the U.S. would be controlled by a consortium of American investors, including Michael Dell, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, and global investors, including Abu Dhabi-based MGX.

Under the order, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has until January 20, 2026, to complete the divestiture. This makes it the fourth time President Donald Trump has extended the deadline to avoid a nationwide ban on the app.

Oracle will be one of the key players as part of the deal, since the company would be responsible for the security, retraining, and ongoing oversight of TikTok’s US recommendation engine. U.S. user data will be stored and managed within a secure Oracle cloud environment. This also addresses prior concerns about China's potential influence over user data and the platform's powerful algorithm and any alleged backdoor.

President Trump also noted that the new U.S. entity will operate independently, with American investors managing the board, the core app infrastructure, and critical moderation systems. However, Reuters reports that the Chinese media is framing the deal slightly differently, suggesting that ByteDance will remain substantially involved even after the restructuring.

According to the Chinese media, ByteDance is preparing to establish a new U.S. company for TikTok, focused on e-commerce, branding, and international connectivity. At the same time, the joint venture, valued at $14 billion, would be tasked with digital security and software oversight, contrasting the “total separation” narrative at the White House signing.

Although Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly indicated his approval for the deal, Reuters reports that there was some resistance from the Chinese side, as per Vice President JD Vance.

"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."

A final regulatory sign-off from China will still be required for the deal to go through.

Source: Reuters | Image via DepositPhotos.com