Trump Plans to Establish TikTok America, ByteDance Retains 19.9% Equity

According to Lianhe Zaobao reports, U.S. media reported that U.S. President Trump will announce the establishment of a new company called "TikTok America" (TikTok America). Approximately 50% of the equity of the new company will be held by new American investors, one-third of the shares will belong to existing investors of TikTok's parent company ByteDance, and ByteDance will retain 19.9% of the shares, which will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.

The U.S. technology news website The Information cited anonymous sources reporting that such a shareholding structure complies with the "no sale, no ban" law passed by the U.S. last year, meaning that TikTok must divest from its parent company, otherwise it will be banned in the U.S., and the proportion of Chinese capital holding in TikTok cannot exceed 20%.

It is reported that "TikTok America" is only a proposed name, and the final name remains to be determined. It is expected that this new company will obtain authorization for TikTok's algorithm from ByteDance.

According to sources, Trump plans to announce this plan on Wednesday evening, April 2. However, Trump did not make any relevant announcement that day. According to Bloomberg reports, Trump met with senior officials that afternoon to discuss options for TikTok's deal.

The U.S. government previously limited ByteDance to selling or divesting TikTok's U.S. assets by January 19 this year for national security reasons. After Trump took office on January 20, he postponed the deadline to April 5.

As the deadline approaches, the list of potential buyers for TikTok continues to expand. Amazon, the U.S. e-commerce giant, and a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Stockley, are the latest potential buyers.

Insiders revealed that Amazon has submitted an acquisition proposal to U.S. Vice President Vance and Commerce Secretary Rutnich. It is understood that the Trump administration did not seriously consider this proposal, but Amazon's involvement may prompt other competitors to raise their bids.

Zoop, a startup founded by Stockley, and the Hbar Foundation, a cryptocurrency fund, also told Reuters on Wednesday that they submitted a proposal to acquire TikTok to the White House this week. Philip, co-founder of Zoop, said that Zoop and the Hbar Foundation have been working with an investment consortium, but he refused to provide details about the bid or other investment partners.

Vance said on Thursday that the government's efforts to find an American buyer for TikTok were progressing smoothly. He told Fox News, "We will reach a deal before the deadline. I think we are in a favorable position. We will continue to work hard."

Trump previously indicated that if a deal cannot be reached before April 5, he would be willing to extend the deadline again. However, even if Trump approves any bidding proposal, the transaction still needs to be approved by ByteDance and the Chinese government, and it is unclear whether they are involved in related consultations.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828456541208588/

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