Trump Signs Order for TikTok’s US Valuation at $14 Billion

President Donald Trump has advanced plans for American investors to acquire TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, with officials estimating a potential valuation of $14 billion, while proposing measures to safeguard the new enterprise.

In an executive order signed on Thursday at the White House, Trump indicated that the agreement corresponds with a 2024 law requiring ByteDance to forfeit control or face a ban on the widely-used video-sharing app in the US. He also reiterated that he had received approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping for the transaction.

“I had a very productive conversation with President Xi,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We discussed TikTok among other topics, and he granted us the green light.”

The arrangement Trump seeks to finalize would reorganize TikTok’s US operations into a new entity predominantly owned by American investors, lowering ByteDance’s stake to below 20%, as dictated by national security legislation. This sale aims to fulfill a campaign promise by Trump and ease tensions in US-China relations.

Trump and other officials underscored that the agreement would safeguard American users’ data, designating Oracle Corp with the responsibility of protecting their information in a secure cloud and aiding the new TikTok entity in defending its recommendation algorithm from foreign interference.

The Chinese embassy in Washington responded to Trump’s statements by reaffirming a previous position, stating that “the US side must provide an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors.”

Despite Trump’s endorsement, the deal remains uncertain as China has yet to publicly express its approval. The Chinese embassy has not promptly replied to a request for comments following Trump’s statements.

Key aspects of the agreement remain unclear, particularly the composition of the buyer group. Ongoing negotiations with Oracle, Silver Lake Management LLC, and the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX involve investing in TikTok US and securing board positions in the new entity, according to sources familiar with the discussions, who noted that talks are still progressing.

Another unresolved matter is the valuation of the new US business: Vice President JD Vance, pivotal in shaping the deal, stated on Thursday that the new venture would be valued at around $14 billion.

“Ultimately, the investors will decide what they wish to invest in and what they believe is the appropriate value,” Vance commented.

Vance’s $14 billion valuation is significantly lower than earlier estimates that placed the US operations at approximately $35 billion to $40 billion. Valuing TikTok’s US operations has proven challenging due to uncertainties surrounding the technology involved in any agreement, particularly the app’s highly sought-after content algorithm.

Emarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg noted that the $14 billion valuation aligns with their forecasts for TikTok’s anticipated US advertising revenues for 2026.

“Advertising is TikTok’s primary business line in the US, and numerous questions remain regarding the operational framework of the new business,” Enberg remarked.

The order provides the parties involved 120 days to finalize the deal, marking the fifth extension granted by Trump, which tests the boundaries of the divest-or-ban law, which allowed only one enforcement pause. The deal must now be completed by the end of January, over a year after the law came into effect.

The president’s actions set the stage for a potential confrontation with US lawmakers, who are skeptical that the emerging deal complies with the requirements of the 2024 law. Congressional members are vowing to scrutinize the agreement—especially whether it indeed terminates ByteDance’s control over TikTok and its prized recommendation software in the US.

“If a deal has been struck, the specifics need to be disclosed to Congress,” stated Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the leading Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. His Republican counterpart, Representative John Moolenaar, noted last week that he plans to “discuss these issues with the transaction parties to ensure adherence to the law’s stipulations.”

It remains uncertain to what extent lawmakers, particularly Trump’s fellow Republicans, will question the president regarding the terms.

Under the proposed plan, the US-based TikTok owners would lease a version of the algorithm from ByteDance, which would then be retrained “from scratch” under Oracle’s supervision, as relayed by a US official. Oracle would assess the retrained algorithm and its content delivery to users to ensure it is free from malicious usage or foreign influence.

User data from the US would be stored in a secure cloud managed by Oracle, with measures in place to exclude foreign adversaries, including China, as per the official statement. ByteDance would not have access to information on TikTok’s US users, according to the official. This framework is reminiscent of the multibillion-dollar partnership known as Project Texas, where Oracle was tasked with isolating and securing TikTok’s US user data from China. TikTok proposed the Project Texas collaboration to the Biden administration in 2022 to address national security concerns, but the US government ultimately deemed it an inadequate solution.

It remains unclear whether this arrangement will resolve longstanding issues among authorities in Beijing. The Chinese foreign ministry has only stated that “the Chinese government respects the wishes of the company involved and is open to seeing fruitful commercial negotiations in line with market regulations lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and considers the interests of both parties.”

© 2025 Bloomberg

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