The Donald Trump administration is reportedly working on a plan to rescue TikTok by involving Oracle and a group of external investors, including Microsoft, to take control of the popular short-video app, according to an NPR report citing sources. Under the proposed arrangement, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, would maintain a minority stake in the company. However, the deal could result in Oracle overseeing the app’s algorithm, data collection, and software updates.
White House officials and Oracle executives reportedly met on Friday to discuss the potential deal, with another meeting planned for next week. According to the report, the agreement could allow TikTok’s American investors to own a majority stake in the app. However, the terms of the deal are still being negotiated and may change as discussions continue.
“The goal is for Oracle to effectively monitor and oversee what’s happening with TikTok… ByteDance wouldn’t completely disappear, but it would reduce Chinese ownership,” a source quoted by NPR said.
What price will TikTok sell?
White House negotiators have reportedly said that ByteDance believes it could fetch at least $200 billion for TikTok, a price that could make the app unaffordable for any of the investor consortiums vying to make a bid.
Notably, TikTok was briefly taken offline in the U.S. for around 14 hours to comply with a federal law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to execute a “qualified divestiture” for the app to continue operating in the U.S. After President Trump was sworn in on January 20, he granted TikTok an additional 75 days to comply with the law.
“My initial thought is a joint venture between the current and/or new owners, where the U.S. gets 50% ownership in a partnership set up between the U.S. and whichever buyer we choose,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, ahead of signing the executive order.
