Journalism of Courage
Tech giant Oracle, American private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based Emirati state-owned investment firm, MGX, will be the biggest investors in TikTok US. According to a CNBC report, the three companies will own roughly 45 per cent of TikTok USA, as per the deal brokered by the US and China.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will own 19.9 per cent, and the remaining 35 per cent will be controlled by ByteDance investors, including General Atlantic, Susquehanna, Sequoia, and new holders, the report said.
As part of the deal, the US government will not be taking an equity stake or a so-called golden share in TikTok’s US operations. Earlier, US President Donald Trump had claimed that media baron Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, could invest in TikTok US.
ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, was forced to sell its US business after the short video app faced a shutdown in its biggest market.
TikTok, which became available in the US in 2018, was always viewed by Washington with suspicion due to data privacy and censorship concerns. The US government also felt that China could use TikTok to push its propaganda to its estimated 170 million monthly active users in the US.
TikTok first faced a ban in the US during Trump’s first term in office in 2020. But the ban was reversed by his successor, Joe Biden, in 2021. But the TikTok was dealt the final blow by Biden, who signed a bipartisan bill into law mandating TikTok to be sold to an American company or face a ban.
Trump, who assumed office in January this year, delayed the enforcement of the ban. Earlier this month, after his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump announced that the US and China had agreed on a deal on the sale of TikTok US. As part of the deal, Oracle will also get a licensed copy of TikTok’s recommendation engine, which China has described as a strategic national technology.
