TikTok strikes US joint venture deal to avoid ban

TikTok said Thursday it has signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States and avoid a ban threat over its Chinese ownership.

According to an internal memo seen by AFP, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told employees that the social media company and its Chinese owner ByteDance had agreed to the new entity, with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX on board as major investors.

Oracle’s executive chairman and founder Larry Ellison is a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump.

Chew told staff that half the US venture will be held by a consortium of new investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — which will have 15 percent each.

Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will own a touch over 30 percent of the venture, with Bytedance retaining just shy of 20 percent, the maximum ownership allowed for a Chinese company under the terms of the law.