China and the United States have cleared the TikTok U.S. business divestiture transaction for approval, bringing a阶段性 conclusion to this years-long regulatory and geopolitical tug-of-war. According to the agreement, ByteDance will sell its U.S. operations to a consortium led by Oracle and Silver Lake, primarily composed of U.S. investors, with the deal expected to be completed this week. Under the new structure, ByteDance's stake in its U.S. operations will be reduced to slightly below 20%, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and the UAE state investment agency MGX each holding 15%, while other investors include Susquehanna, Dragoneer, and the DFO family office. Previously, TikTok CEO Richard Liu stated that the agreement was binding but still required regulatory approval; this implementation means that a long-standing point of friction in Sino-U.S. relations has been temporarily removed. The transaction must be completed by January 22 to comply with the deadline set by an executive order from the Trump administration; this executive order provided a 120-day grace period for implementing the federal ban. A source said that the valuation of TikTok's U.S. operations under the transaction could be around $14 billion, but specific terms and details on algorithm handling remain undisclosed. In an internal memo, Liu stated that the newly established independent entity would be responsible for data protection, content review, and algorithmic safety, and would be governed by a seven-member board with a majority of Americans. China reiterated its consistent position on the TikTok issue but did not provide further details on the approval process.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855091913680905/
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