A proposal to save TikTok from going dark in the United States would involve investments from a number of US-based venture capital firms, private equity funds and tech companies. Together, the investors would create a new US-based company that will operate the app domestically, sources familiar with the framework told CNN.
The framework of the agreement, which was hammered out by US and Chinese negotiators in Madrid this week, largely mirrors the deal presented to the President Donald Trump in April, before the president announced steep tariffs on China that scrambled talks with Beijing over the popular social media app.
Among the investors, which are expected to own a roughly 80% stake in TikTok, with Chinese shareholders holding the rest, are Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake, the sources said. The new consortium would also be operated by a majority-US board, including a member appointed by the Trump administration.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on details of the framework discussed in Madrid. The sources cautioned that the framework is still under discussion and could change before Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are slated to speak by phone on Friday, during which the leaders are expected to formally strike the deal on TikTok.
“Any details of the TikTok framework are pure speculation unless they are announced by this administration,” a senior White House official told CNN.
Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, who last week briefly became the world’s richest person, has widely been rumored to be involved in discussions to buy TikTok’s US assets. Trump in January had said he would champion Ellison, a Trump supporter, buying the app’s US assets.
Ellison’s company already has a relationship with TikTok: Oracle in 2020 began hosting TikTok’s US data, and it briefly reached a deal with the first Trump administration that year to buy TikTok, before that deal was ultimately blocked.
Although Trump has previously said he would seek a 50-50 joint venture between ByteDance and a new American owner, the law banning TikTok that was passed by a bipartisan group of congresspeople and signed by former President Joe Biden prevents China from owning a stake that’s larger than 20% in TikTok’s US assets.
As the deal continues to be hammered out, Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order extending the enforcement of a TikTok ban in the United States by another three months – an action that may be superseded later if the agreement to sell the social media app’s US assets to an American-backed buyer is finalized.
The executive order was necessary to avoid TikTok going dark in the United States on Wednesday, when the previous extension was set to expire. Trump had previously extended the TikTok ban three times after it initially went into effect on January 19, a day before Trump took office.
The Trump administration on Monday announced a deal has finally been reached between the United States and China to keep TikTok operational for the long term in the United States.
Trump has long sought an elusive deal to wrest TikTok’s US assets from Chinese control, allowing an American investor group to buy it. That was a nonstarter for China for months.
But, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday, China ultimate relented following Trump’s threat to shut down TikTok in the United States.
“What turned the tide was a call that Ambassador (Jamieson) Greer and I had with President Trump the night after the first day of negotiations, and President Trump made it clear that he would be willing to let TikTok go dark,” Bessent told CNBC Tuesday.
Bessent said he anticipated Trump and Xi will finalize a deal during a phone call set to take place Friday.
The bulk of the deal — organizing an American-led investor group to buy TikTok’s US assets – had been completed by April, Bessent said. But then Trump’s massive “Liberation Day” tariffs went into effect, effectively putting an embargo on all Chinese goods, and TikTok talks entered a standstill. After tariffs were brought lower and talks between the US and China resumed, Bessent said both Trump and Xi expressed interest in re-engaging on TikTok discussions.
But key details needed to be ironed out, including addressing US national security concerns and China’s willingness to approve the deal.
“We were not willing to give up national security in favor of the deal,” Bessent said. “So we were able to reach a series of agreements mostly for things we will not be doing in the future that will have no impact on national security.”
Ultimately, both sides acquiesced, and Bessent said the deal’s terms and investors will be revealed in the coming days or weeks.
“President Trump showed great leadership and fortitude for what he wanted to see on this deal,” Bessent said. “I think it is highly satisfactory for the US interests.”
Bessent didn’t discuss another point of leverage Trump was holding in TikTok negotiations: a meeting that China has wanted to arrange between Xi and Trump. US officials told CNN Monday that a TikTok agreement was a crucial step toward arranging that meeting, which could take place as soon as next month.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
