The US and China are edging toward a framework agreement that would see TikTok's American operations spun into a new joint venture dominated by US investors, according to The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC.
Oracle emerges as cornerstone partner
The plan, discussed by negotiators in Madrid this week, would hand control of roughly 80% of TikTok's US business to an investor consortium led by Oracle alongside Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, while ByteDance's Chinese shareholders would retain a stake just under 20%.
Oracle is positioned at the center of the deal. Already a critical partner through its multibillion-dollar "Project Texas" arrangement to store TikTok's US user data, the Austin-based software company would continue to manage and safeguard that data from its facilities in Texas. The deal would also expand Oracle's role, with the company serving as both a cornerstone investor and the technological backbone, ensuring that US regulators are satisfied with data security.
Investment consortium takes shape
Silver Lake, a major private-equity investor with longstanding ties to Oracle, and venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz would join Oracle as key backers. Existing ByteDance investors, including Susquehanna International, KKR, and General Atlantic, are expected to roll their holdings into the new entity. Together, these firms would build a US-dominated structure that complies with a 2024 national security law requiring ByteDance to divest control or face a ban of the app in the American market.
Governance structure prioritizes oversight
The agreement would also feature a US-dominated board with at least one government-designated member, underscoring Washington's insistence on oversight. TikTok has prepared a parallel version of its app for US users, who would eventually be asked to migrate. Engineers in America would rebuild recommendation algorithms under license from ByteDance but insulated from Chinese influence—a compromise on one of the deal's thorniest issues, given the algorithm's value and its centrality to TikTok's success.
Timeline remains fluid
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to block TikTok unless ByteDance cedes control, extended the deadline for compliance to December 16, 2024, marking the fourth such extension. The framework could be finalized within 30 to 45 days, with Trump expected to raise the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
For Oracle, the arrangement would cement its position as the trusted US steward of TikTok's data and strengthen its presence in cloud services. For the broader group of American investors, it would secure a commanding stake in one of the world's fastest-growing social media platforms. Yet the final test will be whether both Washington and Beijing endorse the compromise, striking a balance between security concerns, commercial interests, and geopolitical rivalry.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
