According to Business Insider, TikTok is splitting its US staff into two separate corporate entities as it prepares for a forced sale. The new US joint venture, called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, and is set to close on January 22. Employees focused on data protection and algorithm security will move to this entity. However, staff working on “certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing” will remain under ByteDance’s control in a separate global entity called TT Commerce & Global Services LLC. The deal values TikTok US at around $14 billion and gives Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake 15% each, while ByteDance retains just under 20% to comply with US law.
The Byte Stays In Charge
Here’s the thing: this isn’t a clean break. It’s a surgical carve-out. ByteDance isn’t just selling a chunk of its American arm; it’s meticulously keeping the parts it deems most valuable to its global empire. Think about it. The functions moving to the new US joint venture are all about security and data sovereignty—the very things US lawmakers are screaming about. That’s the concession.
But the revenue engines? The global ad systems, the burgeoning TikTok Shop e-commerce platform? ByteDance is keeping those in-house. So, the new American owners get the keys to the house, but ByteDance still controls the plumbing and the electricity. It’s a brilliant, if convoluted, strategy to comply with the letter of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act while holding onto the core commercial muscle. Basically, they’re giving up governance to keep the gold.
Who Really Wins Here?
So who benefits from this messy divorce? Well, Oracle and the investor consortium get a prized asset with a massive user base, albeit one with its hands somewhat tied. They get the platform, but not full control over its monetization levers. The US government gets to claim a win on national security, having “divested” TikTok from Chinese control on paper.
But look, the biggest winner might still be ByteDance. They pocket a huge sum—that $14 billion valuation is nothing to sneeze at—and they retain strategic oversight of TikTok’s global commercial infrastructure. They’re turning a political defeat into a complex financial and operational restructuring that leaves them far from powerless. It makes you wonder: is this sale really a sale, or just a very expensive, legally-mandated partnership?
