TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance closed a deal in January to establish a majority-U.S.-owned joint venture. (File photo) President Donald Trump’s administration will receive a fee of about $10 billion from investors in the recently completed deal to take control of TikTok’s U.S. business, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance in January finalized a deal to establish a majority-U.S.-owned joint venture that will protect U.S. data, to avoid a U.S. ban on the short-video app used by more than 200 million Americans.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will protect US users’ data, applications and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures. He revealed few details about the divestment.
Vice President JD Vance had said in September that the new American company will be valued at about $14 billion.
The payment is part of the deal in which management-friendly investors gained control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from ByteDance, the WSJ said. It adds to investments already made to establish a new entity to operate the app in the US.
Story continues below this ad.
Investors Oracle, Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and other backers paid about $2.5 billion to the Treasury Department when the deal closed and will make a series of subsequent payments until the total reaches $10 billion, according to the Journal.
TikTok and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Administration officials have said the tariff is justified, citing Trump’s role in rescuing TikTok’s US operations and guiding negotiations with China to complete the deal while addressing lawmakers’ concerns about national security, according to WSJ.
Earlier this month, Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi were sued by retail investors in two social media outlets rivals of TikTok who sought to reverse the U.S. president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to form a majority-U.S.-owned joint venture.
