Here’s what we know about who’s buying TikTok’s US business

• TikTok is expected to sell its US assets to a consortium of investors, companies, and wealthy individuals.
• Trump listed Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Rupert Murdoch, and Michael Dell as involved in the deal.
• ByteDance, TikTok’s global parent, is expected to maintain a minority stake in the US business.

Who’s grabbing control of TikTok’s US assets? Well, a lot of different people.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said Larry Ellison and his company, Oracle, would be involved in a $14 billion deal to buy TikTok’s US business. Billionaires Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell would also play a role, Trump said.

Outside that group, a slew of other names have been reported as potentially being in the deal, including the private equity firm Silver Lake Management and MGX, a venture capital firm based in Abu Dhabi.

Trump said the consortium of TikTok US owners would include “four or five world-class investors,” while Vice President JD Vance referred to the buyers as a “blue-chip group of investors.”

ByteDance, TikTok’s current owner, is also expected to hold a minority stake below 20%, the maximum allowed by the divest-or-ban law that spurred TikTok’s sale.

Oracle, which currently works with TikTok on data security, is expected to take on a significant role in the business going forward.

The company will audit the app’s algorithm, which will be “retrained and operated in the United States outside of ByteDance’s control,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

“Oracle is playing a very big part,” Trump said on Thursday.

Here are the key players in TikTok’s US business going forward:

Larry Ellison’s Oracle is expected to play a big part.

Software giant Oracle will play a big role in TikTok US, Trump said.

The company has been named as one of three primary investors taking control of the US spin-off of TikTok, according to reports by CNBC, Reuters, and The New York Times.

Prior to the recent deal, Oracle was already working closely with TikTok’s US Data Security division (USDS). Oracle has stored American TikTok users’ data since 2023 as a safeguard for potential data leaks.

Oracle will also audit the social media platform’s algorithm.

Larry Ellison, who doubled his wealth this year and is estimated to be the world’s second-richest person, is the chairman and cofounder of Oracle and a longtime Trump ally.

Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump said Rupert Murdoch is involved in the deal.

It’s not yet clear exactly how Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul with a multibillion-dollar empire, will be involved in TikTok’s deal.

The Murdoch empire includes media assets like Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

On Thursday, when Trump signed the executive order approving TikTok’s sale, he said Murdoch would play a part. Trump has also mentioned Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert’s son, when speaking about the TikTok deal.

The Murdochs did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Dell is in the mix.

Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell was also mentioned by Trump as part of the TikTok deal.

He founded Dell in 1984, then known as PC’s Limited, and later rebranded it. Dell is one of the richest people in the world — Bloomberg ranks him after Warren Buffett at $147 billion.

Dell did not respond to a request for comment.

Other potential investors include private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based VC firm MGX.

Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will be the main investors in the new TikTok deal, according to reports by CNBC, Reuters, and The New York Times.

Silver Lake is a tech-focused private equity firm. Its current investments include Klarna, Carta, Dell Technologies, Genies, and Waymo, per the firm’s website. Previous investments include Airbnb, Twitter, and Tesla.

MGX is a venture capital firm based in Abu Dhabi. The firm is focused on AI.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal ruling family, is the firm’s chairman. The state-backed fund participated in OpenAI’s $6.6 billion investment round in 2024.

Silver Lake and MGX did not respond to requests for comment.

It’s not yet clear how ByteDance’s previous investors, including KKR and Sequoia Capital, fit into the new deal.

ByteDance has numerous investors who could get a stake in TikTok US.

Private equity giant KKR and venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital and SoftBank, have previously invested in ByteDance.

Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source, that “a group of existing shareholders in TikTok’s Chinese parent” would get part of TikTok US under the new arrangement.

KKR declined to comment. Sequoia Capital and SoftBank did not respond to a request for comment.

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