Overview
- The Wall Street Journal reported that investors have paid about $2.5 billion to the Treasury at the January closing and are expected to make additional installments until the total reaches roughly $10 billion.
- Backers include Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, which funded a new U.S. entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, to operate the app’s American business.
- ByteDance retains nearly a 20% stake and licensed its recommendation algorithm to the U.S. venture, which Vice President JD Vance has valued at around $14 billion.
- Administration officials have defended the fee as compensation for preserving TikTok’s U.S. operations and navigating negotiations with China under 2024 divestiture requirements.
- Legal scrutiny has intensified, with plaintiffs Zhaocheng Tan and Garrett Reid suing President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge the approval of the arrangement.