TikTok has reached a deal backed by President Donald Trump to create a new company with the app’s parent company to take over US operations and said it plans an initial public offering of the business.
While it is not a done deal, the move advances TikTok’s struggle to establish a stable future in the United States. It follows a law passed last year mandating that the American version of the app be split from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or barred in America. Trump had repeatedly put off enforcement of the law as he sought a deal with TikTok’s Chinese parent company to make it American owned.
“We are pleased to have an opportunity to have a positive impact in the U.S. by providing a home to the incredible teams that will be joining this new company,” Chew said in the memo, which was first reported by CNBC and reviewed by CNN. A person with knowledge of the company confirmed that the memo was accurate.
TikTok’s sale is officially confirmed this month. ByteDance has agreed to transfer control of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S.-led joint venture.
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According to the deal, a new joint venture will handle the US version of TikTok with ownership that is 50% controlled by a group of investors including tech company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and Emirati investment firm MGX. “Affiliates of certain existing investors in ByteDance” will own just over 30% of the joint venture, and 19.9% will continue to be owned by ByteDance, according to Chew’s memo.
The two now move toward a close by Jan. 22, 2026, with “more work to be done before the transaction is completed,” Chew wrote in his memo. The terms of that deal were accepted by both ByteDance and TikTok, he added.
In September, the Trump administration said it had brokered a deal for China to transfer control of TikTok’s United States operations to a group of mostly American investors. The president signed an executive order that said the deal amounted to a qualified divestiture and deferred the enforcement of the ban-or-sale law for 120 days, giving them time to wrap up the transaction.
The US law, which technically took effect in January, prohibits TikTok unless ByteDance sells about 80% of its stake in the United States business to non-Chinese investors.
And the new entity will retrain TikTok’s algorithm on United States user data, while storage of Americans’ data will be done by Oracle, as White House officials have previously promised. The US joint venture will also handle content moderation for US users. But Chew’s memo indicates that the ByteDance-controlled global TikTok entity will still oversee e-commerce, advertising and marketing for the new U.S. platform.
The deal is likely to require Chinese government approval before it can be completed. And while Trump has said Chinese President Xi Jinping is on board with the deal, that approval has not been officially confirmed by Beijing. The transaction is also expected to require regulatory clearances in both countries.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Guo Jiakun, said when asked Friday for China’s approval of the deal and comments on the pact to form a new U.S. joint venture: “With regard to the specific question you mentioned, I would refer you to the competent Chinese authority. China’s stance on the TikTok issue has been consistent and clear.”
