TikTok logo. Getty Images/AFP Yonhap News. 

As U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the 25th (local time) to approve the acquisition of the U.S. business rights of the Chinese video platform TikTok, U.S. business media outlet CNBC and others reported that Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will each hold a 15% stake in the new U.S. entity, TikTok USA.

Sources stated that these three companies will hold a combined 45% stake in 'TikTok USA,' though they explained that the exact equity proportions may change as negotiations are still underway.

TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, will retain a 19.9% stake in compliance with the 'TikTok Ban Act,' which limits foreign ownership to under 20%, while the remaining 35% will be held by existing ByteDance investors and new investors.

The federal government will not hold any equity in the operation of TikTok USA, nor will it acquire a so-called 'golden share' that would allow for veto power regardless of stock ownership.

Furthermore, the new entity will have a board of directors composed of a majority of U.S. citizens, and Oracle will continue to oversee the app's security and operations while providing cloud computing services to TikTok USA.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance explained that the corporate value of TikTok USA was estimated at $14 billion (approximately 20 trillion KRW) in this transaction.

Oracle, a U.S.-based software and cloud company, was designated as a 'Security Partner' when the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations was first proposed in 2020, and has been responsible for storing and managing the data of U.S. TikTok users.

Silver Lake is a private equity firm specializing in global technology investments that has participated as an investor since the TikTok U.S. sale discussions began in 2020, while MGX is a new investment firm established in 2024 by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund and the UAE's major tech firm, G42.

MGX is led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a powerful figure in the UAE, the brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's National Security Advisor; the firm is well-known for its investments, including in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.

Since President Trump took office, MGX has emerged as a key investor in major deals involving U.S. strategic interests.

Existing ByteDance backers, including investment firms General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and Sequoia, are also expected to invest in the new TikTok USA.

President Trump stated on the 21st that conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell could be involved in this TikTok deal.

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