Deal Structure and Participants - The US administration is working on a plan involving Oracle and a group of outside investors to take control of TikTok's operations [1] - ByteDance would retain a stake in TikTok, but Oracle would oversee data collection and software updates [2] - The deal anticipates participation from ByteDance's current US investors, including Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, KKR, and Sequoia Capital [3] - Oracle would be responsible for addressing national security issues under the deal [5] TikTok's Operations and User Base - TikTok's management would remain in place to operate the app [6] - The app has 170 million American users and was temporarily taken offline before a law requiring its sale or ban took effect [6] Negotiation Status and Political Context - The terms of the deal are fluid and could include US operations as well as other regions [2] - Oracle was interested in a TikTok stake "in the tens of billions," but the rest of the deal is in flux [9] - The White House sees appeasing Congress as a key hurdle in the negotiations [9] Historical Context and Previous Agreements - TikTok initially struck a deal with Oracle in 2022 to store US users' information to alleviate Washington's concerns about Chinese government interference [5] - The company has argued that its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on Oracle's cloud servers, and content moderation decisions affecting American users are made in the US [10]
Trump's White House in talks to have Oracle, US investors take over TikTok